Since moving into my ‘new digs’ I’ve been consumed with looking for good second hand furniture to set up my new home.  

I was previously in a fully furnished apartment (right down to the towels) but I recently moved into an unfurnished apartment, and with no furniture other than a bar table and 2 chairs (which I bought for the former balcony so as to enjoy the city views), I had nothing.  

So began my search of numerous second hand shops, Gumtree, and my local ‘buy swap sell’ site looking for things I needed at bargain prices. 

I love shops because you can see the item, examine it thoroughly and measure it up for size.  Online however, you’re relying on a photo and what the seller writes about the item they have for sale.  

The one thing that surprised me most in the ‘buying process’ online, was the number of people who don’t put in the size dimensions of the item they’re selling.  For me that was the most important information, so that I could know straight away if the item would fit the space I wanted it for or not. If it wasn’t going to fit the space, then all other factors such as color and style were irrelevant.  And so it was, I was constantly asking sellers to tell me the length by width by height by depth so that I could make sure my first decision on space and “Will it fit?” would be met.  

Another factor when buying online is that a photo doesn’t always give a true perspective of the item depending on the angle and the lighting. So that was something I learnt to clarify with the seller, rather than to assume the photo was a true reflection of the item,  only to be disappointed when collecting it. 

While it’s difficult or maybe even impossible to put an exact measure on, I believe we all desire to know to some degree a measure of the length, height, width and depth of love, value, and acceptance we have.  Be it to ourselves, by God, or by those in our world.  

I think the most important thing is having a right perspective on our love, value and acceptance and not like that of a distorted photo due to a wrong angle or bad lighting.  Because choices made thereafter are based on these three: what we see, what we believe, and what we perceive.  

So in the same way that we often measure 3 times to be sure we measured right, we need to apply the same rule to ourselves.  Always checking our perspective…  because while our perception would show and suggest it to be true, in reality our perspective is not always accurate and true of that which we see, believe and perceive.

Most important is that we love, value and accept ourselves. Those who are meant to be in our world will do the same.  And ultimately we can know that our love, value and acceptance by God is unconditional and immeasurable in its unlimited capacity.