What We Leave Behind

     The walk in to a strange home with an estate sale sign in front is filled with anticipation. Treasures covered in years of dust may be lurking inside! An enormous rhinestone brooch, long amber glass flapper beads, or even a Victorian cameo may be waiting for a new owner. Digging through decades of belongings is as exciting for me as an archaeological dig would be for others. The things we leave behind say a lot about what we treasured in life. Some places are filled with dishes, the owner unable to resist the variety of colors and patterns they collected. Others have rooms filled with fabric, thread and patterns. Now and then you find a garage filled with every kind of tool. I always wonder how many family members and friends benefited from the skill of the owner's labors!

Vintage Florenza Cameo Brooch

     We can find out what we value by looking around our own homes. While there is nothing wrong with collecting things we enjoy, we need to be sure our collection doesn't replace the real treasures in life.  Beautifully displayed dishes look even more so when used to serve a group of friends gathered around your table. A quilt made from a fabric collection could warm the heart - and feet - of the one who receives it. Our Creator gave us many beautiful things to enjoy, made even better when shared. 

     One day our own treasures may find themselves lined up on estate sale tables. If unused and in mint condition they will be a real find for someone. But the worn pieces, those with a glowing patina, speak of service, and are real treasures with a history of love!

Luke 12:15

"Then He said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

     

Sparkle, Not Spots!

     I have to confess that my heart starts to race a bit when I find a rhinestone necklace at an estate sale. Well, not just any rhinestone necklace, but one that you might have seen on a movie actress in a 1940's film classic! A waterfall of clear stones sparkling every which way when the light hits them. Even when the jewelry table is set up in a dark corner of the room it seems to glow from the reflected light the rhinestones produce. During my first treasure hunts I would purchase these immediately, without taking time for a thorough examination. They always looked lovely at first glance!

     Then I would take them home, sit down with a jeweler's loupe and slowly analyze the condition of each stone. My hope was that the stones would be in "excellent vintage condition" - meaning they weren't chipped, cracked, or clouded, and didn't have any dark spots in the back of the stone. Sometimes my careful examination would reveal imperfections that weren't apparent in the haste of the treasure hunting moment! The beautiful brooch featured above looks perfect, but if you examined it under a loupe you would see that many of the teardrop shaped stones are darkened at the tips!

     It's easy to get caught up in life and race through the time we've set aside to read God's Word and pray. "Just give me a gem for this day!", we might tell God. Our heart, though, requires a closer examination through the loupe of God's Word. The dark spots within need to be found. When a rhinestone gets too many dark spots it loses its ability to reflect the light and stops sparkling. When the dark spots of sin build up in our heart we stop reflecting the Light too! Though it's almost impossible to restore a rhinestone, we can be restored by confessing our sin to God - He will forgive!

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

Treasure in a Dusty Box!

     Shelves filled with the remains of a household held chipped bowls, colorful coffee cups covered with slogans and outdated kitchen appliances. At the very bottom sat an old watch box, a gummy, disintegrating rubber band holding its top on. I opened it for a quick peek, the rubber band flaked off in my hand, and a pair of vintage cuff links peeked out. People were crowded around me, it was apparent that I would have to buy this box and take it home if I wanted a better look.
   
     The box contained the cuff links, some wonderful old lockets-charming pictures intact, a man's pocket watch chain, a bus token, and a lapel stick pin with some sparkling blue stones surrounding a clear center stone. I couldn't determine a value since there were no markings on the pin, so I stuck the sweetly sentimental items back in the box and tucked it away on my own shelf.

Sterling silver /ebony inlay cuff links!

     And there it sat, until many months later when I was taking a stunning opal and 10 karat gold pendant to be appraised by a jeweler; remembering the pin, I removed it from the box and brought it along.

     The pendant I'd rushed to have appraised wasn't so stunning when I learned it was fake! The stickpin that had languished for months on the shelf turned out to be a treasure when the jeweler determined it was 14 karat gold with sapphires and a center diamond!

     The Bible tells me to bring my cares and anxiety to Christ in prayer. That He has the power to give me peace, regardless of my situation. Many times I disregard that instruction and put the treasure He offers on a shelf...to languish. In the meantime I grasp at advice from friends or count on myself to figure it all out, putting value in my own efforts. Though they never give me lasting peace...and I'm always left with worry.  My way may look right, it may seem real, but in truth, I've put my trust in what is fake! When I, "cast all my care upon Him, for He cares for me", I am filled with peace, and know that our great and mighty God cares about my situation!
     Real treasure is found in the Bible, not just an assortment of sweet and sentimental thoughts or ideas. Taking it off the shelf and opening it up to read is the beginning of the best treasure hunt...

* "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." 2 Peter 5:7

The Right Place to Look

     In front of the home hosting an estate sale a long line snakes from the front door spilling out into the driveway, sometimes even down the sidewalk. The line has started an hour or so before the sale is scheduled to begin, and each person holds bags or boxes - something for carrying home the treasure they are sure to find. We recognize a few of the regulars - the woman who goes straight to the pantry and carries off all the spices and cans she finds; a man that always hunts old record albums with specific titles in mind. As the doors open you'll hear others asking directions from the sale staff for where a specific item might be found.  Most are more than happy to point you in the right direction.
     Always, I am headed for the jewelry. The sparkle draws me in; a rhinestone bracelet here, some clip on earrings there, before you know it the basket I carry is full, and I make my way to the cashier.

   
     The anticipation of what treasures lurk inside a dusty old house, the beauty of the things I find there have me hooked, and I keep going back to estate sales every week. And it makes me think of something else that draws me back time and again...

     To some the Bible is just a dusty old book, but I've found that as I read it there is beauty in the words found there. Beauty, and peace, hope, wisdom for my life...real treasure that I've never found at any sale.

     Sometimes, when I finally get to the front of the estate sale line, and ask the staff where the jewelry can be found, I'm told there isn't any that day. But when I read God's words to us - the Bible, there has always been a gem, something that sparkled and brought wonder to my day!

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
Matthew 7:7-8