The Best Place to Store Treasure!

     Just say "jewelry" and a woman's eyes light up! I recently watched a woman hover over the jewelry tables that were being set up while we waited in an estate sale line. She couldn't help herself - she would walk away, then turn around and come right back. It was if the jewelry was calling her!

     Another vintage jewelry collector recently asked me which piece of jewelry I would never part with. It was amazing how quickly a certain necklace came to my mind! And though I couldn't remember what I'd had for lunch, I could describe in great detail this favorite necklace...Art Deco...bakelite beads...mesh chain...
    Her favorite was a ring that she declared would need to be "pulled from her cold dead fingers" before she would let go of  it! Extreme, perhaps, but it demonstrates the sentimental value women place on their treasures! Marilyn Monroe called them her best friends!

      If you've ever read the account in Genesis of the search for Isaac's wife, you know jewelry was involved. After Rebekah had watered a bunch of camels, the servant sent to find Isaac a wife, realized she was the one, and put a "nose ring on her nose, and bracelets on her wrists". More "jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold" followed. Rebekah left her home to marry a stranger - and I've wondered if the jewelry might have helped (just a little) in the decision process!

     At the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, you will find this beautiful Hellenistic mummy, decked out in her finest jewelry. When women want to look good, they always open their jewelry box. This woman was determined to look good for eternity!

 


     Something beautiful, something valued, something precious...

     Something we love to wear, and store in chests and boxes...

     But not eternal...

     "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21.

     Someday, all our beautiful trinkets and treasures will pass from our grasp. Though the woman had her sarcophagus painted with jewelry on the outside, she herself would become dust. All her costly adornment didn't matter in the end.

     What will matter is where our treasure lies. Is it in Heaven? Have you believed in Jesus Christ and placed your trust in Him to take you there?

     "Lord you are more precious than silver.
      Lord you are more costly than gold
      Lord you are more beautiful than diamonds
      And nothing I desire compares with you."
                                                         -Lynn De Shazo

   

   

   



 


   

Treasure in an Unlikely Place!

     Mason jars, rain-soaked cardboard boxes, roasting pans - I've found treasure in all sorts of places! Perhaps that explains why I'm willing to lean upside down over a box on someone's driveway, for all the world looking like a duck feeding at the bottom of a pond. That box may hold a treasure, and finding it requires a diligent search.

     One of my best finds occurred when I pulled a plastic bag of vintage designer jewelry from the center of a stack of old tires resting in the corner of a garage. It was for sale, but no one was sure how it had ended up there!

                                          Faux Opal and Rhinestone Brooch - Late 50s-Early 60s Era

     God has intentionally placed treasure in an unseemly place - clay jars! A clay jar is easily chipped, cracked or broken - which makes it a strange choice for something valuable. I am always amazed that God chose to shower His great love on frail human beings with all our chips and cracks! But He tells us, "... My strength is made perfect in weakness."  And a clay pot is definitely weak!

The greatest story of all time, Jesus Christ come to earth to save humanity from the sin that separated them from God. And we, the clay jar, were given the awesome privilege of storing and pouring out this treasure so that all may hear it. If the treasure was stored in gold or silver, then some might trust in the vessel's ability; stored in a clay pot the treasure of the Gospel shines brightly...

     And God is glorified...
     The point of our existence...
     "...Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!"

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." 2 Corinthians 4:7



   

   

The Treasure in a Tiny Tea Cup!

     Finding treasure during the middle of summer in Arizona is a challenge. Most will put off having their sales until the weather is a bit cooler, preferring not to be sitting outside when the temperatures hover around 100 degrees or higher. This is also when many residents find somewhere up north to cool off, which means the friends we normally see each week while we are out hunting, are now missing from the "circuit". A few more familiar faces appeared at the sales last week end, and it was great to catch up! The friends we've made while out hunting are some of the best treasures we've found!

     This charming tea cup that was purchased at a recent estate sale wouldn't be considered a treasure by most. It is a child's size cup and saucer with beautiful hand painted flowers, made in Occupied Japan by Hokutosha:

     

     It's what the cup reminds me of that makes it a treasure...

     A while back some events in my life left me wondering about God. Almighty God, the Creator of the universe...

     All powerful...

     All seeing...

     

     At that time I felt unseen by God. Like the prayers I was pouring out to Him were unheard. And it made me wonder why, when it was in His power to change things, that He didn't. 

     Little by little I didn't pray so much.

     One day a friend of mine, asked me to come to her home for coffee. When I arrived she seated me at her table, poured coffee in a beautiful cup, and offered me a pastry. We started talking about families and life. And then, as if God Himself were leading her, she started talking about prayer. She shared personal stories of hard times in her life, and how God had answered her prayers during those times. She reminded me that God has the very best plan for us, even when it may not look that way when we are in the middle of a trial. So much wisdom from this dear friend, and she had no idea what was going on in my heart.

     Or that I didn't think God was listening any more...

     The invitation from this friend wasn't random. The God that I thought didn't care, had orchestrated it all.  Through my friend He reminded me that He was there, that He was listening, that I could trust Him to bring about the best in the end. 

     When I backed away from Him, He pursued me, through a friend... 

     "...For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5b)

     So you see, the little tea cup does have great worth - it's a reminder from God that friendships are a treasure!