treasure map
January 26, 2010 | Just me
The car whipped to the curb. Dad jumped out and picked up the “treasure” he had spotted on the side of the road. It might have been an old hammer or a bag that looked like it contained something of value. All I knew was that I was as excited as he was to see what he found!
I’m am my dad’s daughter. I don’t have time to treasure hunt as much as I would like, but I love, love, love spening an afternoon strolling through an antique shop or hanging out at an estate sale. I love to look through old books and old costume jewelry, and sometimes I even bid on them.
But this is where I’m also my dad’s daughter. If I win the bid, I don’t usually hang on to it. I love the thrill of putting it on Ebay or Amazon and seeing what it might bring. I might lose a little. I might gain a little. But sometimes I discover that my $10 purchase was a huge success. It was a treasure!
Recently I bought two photo albums that had pictures and ticket stubs from the 80′s. I was a young mom in the 80′s and I definitely wasn’t hanging out with any cool rockin’ bands, but something said, “this is valuable”.
I paid $19.90 for the albums. When I got home, I took them apart and put the items on Ebay. My hopes were to add to a small savings account I had opened, saving for a new mattress set. The twin beds that my girls used to sleep on were nice, but not so cool for my married children when they stayed in the guest bedroom.
I was shocked when the bids started coming in. When the auctions ended, I had made enough to buy a really nice mattress set–in cash! Eureka!
I didn’t know what to do with the twin mattresses, so they set in my garage for two months. This week, finally, I loaded them up and drove to a local store that sells used items to support a domestic violence shelter. The lady inside directed me to the shelter nestled a few miles away, hidden behind iron gates and an intricate entry system. The director met me at the gates.
“You just don’t know how much we needed this,” she said as I unloaded the mattresses. A woman and her son are leaving the shelter and they don’t have beds.”
I’m going back today. I have a queen-sized headboard, some sheets and comforters and pillowcases, and a few other good items that have just been taking up space in my closets or garage. They have been stockpiled, in the way, and all the time they could have been treasure for someone else.
What about you? Do you have treasure lying around in your closets? Those nice jeans that are two sizes too small, or too big? Those dress clothes that you never wear, but they’re too nice to “give away”? A mattress set, sheets, headboards, dressers, food, coats…
What do we have that we fail to realize could be a huge blessing to someone else? What will we do in response?
Maybe the treasure map for another person leads straight to your garage, your closet or pantry. Let’s pull out the map today and see what we find!
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That’s a lovely thought and it brought to mind a similar experience a friend of mine had when God arranged a divine appointment for her.
Her mother is taking her on a cruise soon and she desperately needed a cocktail dress to wear to dinner, but being blind she struggles with shopping and can’t really afford a posh dress. She had prayed and prayed that she’d come across one somehow and a few days later a woman in her church came to her saying she’d been given EIGHT dresses that she didn’t know what to do with! It’s amazing how abundantly and extravagantly God provides. My friend now has enough different dresses to have a different one every night of the cruise!
January 26th, 2010 at 10:28 amWow Suzie. I practice this also. I’ve not had anything as of late however. I love this story.
January 26th, 2010 at 1:44 pm