The used, worn and broken!

I love flea markets, garage sales and thrift stores!  I could spend hours on a Saturday morning searching for treasures and deals.  Through this blog, I look forward to sharing with you some of my favorite finds. One favorite is this cabinet that sits in our living room. 

I love it for several reasons.  First, it stores treasures that are dear to me and have sentimental value.  It houses a lunch box similar to the one that my great grandfather carried when he worked in the West Virginia coal mines.  There is also the light that he wore on his coal miner's hat that illuminated his path in the dark mine.  This priceless piece also contains a cookie jar from my grandmother.  To some, it may look like junk...to me...they are heirlooms.  To me they serve as a reminder of past generations and the legacy they left behind. 

I also love this cabinet because of the story behind this find.  One day my husband and I were walking in our neighborhood and spotted a piece of furniture on our neighbor's tree lawn. We asked them if they meant to throw away the piece and if they cared if we took it.  They laughingly agreed and were curious as to why.  My husband and I shared that we wanted to see if we could bring this piece back to life.  After lugging it across the street, we began to devise a plan for it's improvement.

After a lot of cleaning, structural reinforcement, stripping, painting, crackling and sealing our trash piece was now a treasure.  This process reminds me a lot of the way God sees us.  He doesn't see us as broken, worn or used.  He sees us as treasures.  He sees us as His beautiful creation.  He sees us as vessels that He can use...even when we are broken and worn.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

 

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

Do you enjoy searching for treasures?  What has been one of your greatest finds?

Happy Hunting!


Joy