When Victoria returned to her grandfather’s home in Iowa, she noticed that his favorite couch was still in the living room. She sat on it for a while, reminiscing about her childhood days, when suddenly it cracked. What she discovered inside changed her entire life.
Victoria’s mother, Ella, abandoned her at a young age and moved to New York with her lover because she was fed up with living in poverty. Victoria’s father, Edward, worked as a delivery boy in the mornings and as a warehouse worker at night, but the money was not enough to keep the family afloat.
As if that wasn’t enough, there was Victoria’s grandfather, Silas, who was in the last stages of his life fighting his battle against cancer and mainly against himself. So Ella found an easy way out of her misery, moving from Iowa to New York with her boyfriend.
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Victoria was 15 at the time. The teenager had barely gotten over her mother’s escape when her father died in a tragic accident a few months later, leaving her and Silas alone.
She visited Victoria and spoke to her on the phone after Edward’s death, but Silas didn’t like her. He never had, but after she left them, he hated her even more.
However, when Silas left for his heavenly home a year later, he forced Victoria to move in with her mother in New York. It was clear that Dave, Ella’s supposed lover, didn’t like her, and Victoria didn’t admire him either.
Due to their frequent clashes, problems eventually arose at home, and Dave eventually left. The relationship between Ella and Victoria soured even further after this, as Dave told Ella that he was leaving her because he hated Victoria and her “hateful” attitude.
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At first, Ella managed to survive on the money left over from what her boyfriend had given her, so at first she did not skimp on expensive gifts. That’s how they got by for half a year.
She was always dragging something to the pawnshop, and didn’t seem to care about getting a job or planning for the future. She didn’t want to work, so when her savings ran out, she went out and found another man.
Tired of living a miserable life with her mother, Victoria applied for scholarships and somehow ended up at New York University, where she met Kevin. They met while working part-time at the same coffee shop, and their friendship quickly turned into love.
Soon, the lovebirds moved in together, and Victoria became pregnant. They were about to graduate, but Kevin left Victoria after learning of her pregnancy.
Victoria returned to her mother for help, but her mother refused to help her, so the young woman somehow finished her degree and returned to her grandfather’s house in Iowa.
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The house had been boarded up for years and could barely be seen from the road because of the thick undergrowth. Victoria decided to call for help because the heavy door wouldn’t budge.
Luckily, her gaze fell on a young man chopping wood in the yard next door. “Hey, can you help me please?” Victoria called from the doorway.
The man looked up from his wood and smiled. “Sure,” he replied. “I’ll be there in two minutes.”
Victoria noticed that the man was limping badly, so she ran over to him. “I’m sorry I bothered you. I should probably call someone else.”
As he came closer, he could see her clearly. “Victoria, is that you?” he exclaimed, surprised. “What are you doing here?”
Victoria looked at him, puzzled because she didn’t recognize him. “Excuse me, but do I know you?”
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“Of course,” the man replied with a wide smile. “Remember when we were friends when we were kids? It’s me, Tim.”
“Oh, Tim! I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you! You’ve changed so much! You were so chubby as a teenager and look at you now!”
“I guess hard work does that to you,” he joked. “But how did you end up here?”
“Well, that’s quite a story. Would you mind helping me with the door first?” she said. “Hand me the tools, I’ll carry them,” she added, noticing his limp.
With the help of his tools, Timothy managed to juggle the rusty door open in less than five minutes. “Wow, there must be ghosts in there! Look at all the dust and cobwebs! Let me help you clean it up.”
Victoria refused, insisting that she would clean the house herself, but Timothy convinced her, and it took them almost three hours to thoroughly clean the dust from the entire house. Meanwhile, Victoria told her story about how she ended up in Iowa after her boyfriend and mother left her.
Then it was time to clean Silas’s couch, which was beautifully adorned with a dusty white sheet and numerous cobwebs in the living room.
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“You know, this couch meant a lot to Grandpa,” Victoria explained to Timothy, “and he looked after it like it was the apple of his eye. This couch with the cracked armrests has survived three generations and will hopefully survive the fourth.” She put her hand on her belly.
“But before that, we need to clean it up,” Timothy replied. “So get out of the way, you’ve already helped a lot with the cleaning, and all that dust is bad for your baby.”
While Timothy cleaned the sofa, Victoria continued with her sofa story. “I would often try to jump on it to test its back springs in action, but then Grandpa would shout at me: ‘Victoria! Get your skinny bones off the sofa!’ I miss him so much.”
“Well, now that it’s clean, at least you can sit here for a while and rest,” Timothy said after tidying up the couch.
But when Victoria tried to sit down, after having been drying out for many years in an unheated house, the sofa creaked disgustingly. And when she tried to make herself more comfortable on it, it treacherously cracked and broke!
Victoria jumped up in surprise as she felt something solid hidden in the sofa. “There’s something in here!”
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The sofa’s stuffing, which leaked and crumbled from time to time, revealed a small chest hidden deep within. When they opened it, they discovered gold ducats, jewels, and a note addressed to Victoria.
“I hope this letter finds you well, Victoria,” the note began. “I wanted to give this to you sooner, but you were too young.”
“My grandfather gave me this inheritance and told me to give it to someone who needed it,” the note continued. “I think you need it the most because I realize how badly your mother treated you and how sad it must have been for you when Edward left. I hope this helps. Love, Silas.”
“Wow, that’s a nice couch!” Timothy said thoughtfully, scratching the back of his neck.
However, Victoria couldn’t stop crying. Thanks to her grandfather, her life changed for the better after discovering the chest. She sold some of the treasures and used the proceeds to renovate her house, and used part of the money to build a new room for her baby.
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Timothy was by her side every step of the way, helping her with everything from finding carpenters for the house to taking her to appointments and visiting her on weekends, so she wouldn’t feel abandoned.
A few months later, Victoria gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Timothy helped her take care of the baby and they gradually became close. He soon proposed to her, and Victoria happily accepted.
At last, her family was complete. She had a husband who adored her, a lovely son, and her grandfather’s blessing on the couch she had inherited. Fortunately, her couch helped them to the point that they were able to set up a small business together with the money they had saved from selling the jewelry.
What can we learn from this story?
- There is a delay in God’s court, but not a denial. Victoria had to go through a lot at the beginning, but in the end everything turned out well.
- Matches are made in heaven. Kevin and Victoria’s relationship didn’t work out because she was destined to end up with Timothy.
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