1st Estate, 2nd Estate, Real Estate? : Segullah

Posted by Linda | June 17, 2011 | 8 Comments

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We kept our First Estate. Presumably we?re keeping our Second Estate. But have you ever tried to offload Real Estate? For me selling our house in Massachusetts was an opportunity for friendship, interfaith bridging, and an exploration of the tokens and tchotchkes of our religions.

My husband accepted a job in Chicago and we had to sell our house in Belmont, MA. We cleaned up the place, hired a realtor, stuck the sign in the yard and prayed for the best.

At the time I worked at an upscale gift shop, The Crafty Yankee, in Lexington, MA, just kitty-corner from the Common where the first battle of the American Revolution was fought. My good friend and workmate Martha Busby, a Boston area Catholic with Irish roots, wanted to help us in our selling quest. One day at work she presented me with something special. It was a little plastic statue of Saint Joseph. ?I just got him at the Catholic store for you. A priest blessed him so he should be good to go,? she said earnestly.

Huh?

Martha knew I was a Mormon, a Christian, a believer. ?It?s a Catholic tradition,? she explained. ?A priest blesses these statues and you bury them in the ground ? upside down and facing the street for tough sells ? you pray and have? faith and St. Joseph will speed up the buying process.?

I had never heard of this before but was delighted that Martha would trust me not to laugh at her or this notion. ?What can it hurt?? she said with a wink and a smile.

I planted St. Joseph. The house sold within the month. Granted, this was before the real estate market tanked, but it was still pretty speedy.

When the house sold, I brought Martha a thank you present. I gave her a plastic Nephi action figure and a Book of Mormon with a note saying, ?We Mormons believe in the power of buried things, too!? We laughed and hugged and felt that warm glow of sisterhood.

I loved this exchange for the closeness and commonality it brought to Martha and me. I loved it for the acknowledgement of our mutual faith in God and the respect we had for the idiosyncrasies of our traditions. I don?t quite know what to make of plastic St. Joseph statues ? or of dashboard Liahonas for that matter. As long as I never bury my faith or covenants, I figure I?m still making progress in that 2nd estate anyway.

Got thoughts on unique missionary moments or reciprocal faith exchanges? The use and abuse of Mormon kitsch & knickknacks? Coping with our own odd traditions? Please share in a spirit of good will.

(For more on St. Joseph and real estate selling powers, check out http://nyti.ms/jKqxmA.)

Related posts:

1. Oh the Glitz and the Glamour!
2. Statue of Limitations
3. Practically Perfect in Every Way

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Source: http://segullah.org/daily-special/1st-estate-2nd-estate-real-estate/

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