Praise God for good research skills

A long time ago, my brother threw out a cute little plaque that mum purchased from a little gift shop when we were young. For many years, she has really missed that little plaque and many times, she has told me how special it was to her and how she can never replace it. She just absolutely adored it. She had bought two identical plaques for $12 each from some arcade and given one to a friend whose husband had died. She lost touch with that friend.

Anyway, after hearing her tell me again a few weeks ago how much she missed that plaque, I decided to go on a mission to find her a replacement. I started looking at gifts shops and op-shops for the same plaque…. It was pretty pointless really, because it was so unique. Then I went on the Internet and did a Google search for the words in the plaque, which said “Hope for the best, cope with the rest”. I was amazed at how many irrelevant search results came up with that expression in it! Then I found an entry from a person responding to some discussion forum and they referred to a plaque with a droopy-eyed dog with that expression. This was the exact plaque mum had!!! …. However, to my dismay, the entry was made in May 2008 and there was no way of contacting the anonymous person.

I prayed God would help me find what I was looking for, for mum, because I so desperately wanted to bless her. A couple of days later, I was looking on the Internet again, trying lots of different types of search terms. Finally, I found a reference to a book called “Hang in there”, which was said to comprise a collection of beloved inspirational art from the 1970s. The blub said “bassets hounds advised us to hope for the best and cope with the rest”. I didn’t know for sure if it was the same image, but it sounded hopeful. Then I did a search of the online bookstores in Australia, but to no avail. It simply wasn’t listed. However, then, I found the book listed on eBay as a “Buy it Now” deal for $9.27 (including postage) from the United Kingdom. How exciting. So I purchased it and it arrived about 10 days later.

Sure enough, the exact image was in there [PRAISE THE LORD], so I scanned it and printed it out in colour in various different sizes. Then I went to the op-shop this morning, purchased a beautiful gold frame and put it in it and took it to mum’s house. She was really surprised I had found it and touched. I am amazed I found it to, but of course, the credit goes to God. He gave me the research skills to find it and prompted someone to put it up on eBay for me, just when I needed it. Glory to God. I am so stoked. I also made a copy for Juliet and I and framed them in tiny wooden frames I bought from the op-shop.

Totally made my day, as it did for mum too. Here's the image: