Life: an adventure, a journey with Jesus!

Trash or Treasure?

There is a saying, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” and we know that to be true from our years and years of having an ‘antique’ shop. We use the word ‘antique’ although maybe old and unique is more descriptive of the items we have bought and sold over the years. Our love for the things you might find in grandma’s attic goes back to my youth, and Don immediately respected this appreciation I had and fully embraced it. He increased his knowledge of things from the past and thus our antique business took off.

When we relocated to Peru, we had several estate sales and then called a Christian auctioneer who took the remaining items from our house and sold them for us. It was a sad day because we let go of a lot of items we treasured, but it was okay because we knew that God was taking us on this journey and His plans are good for us. (Jeremiah!) And, what a treasure this journey is!

Shortly after completing language school in Arequipa, we were living at Pat’s Place until we could find our own apartment. One morning as I was walking down from the 4^th floor, I heard a ringing of a bell, and looked out over the railing to see a man on a bicycle with a cart filled with trash. This was the junk man, reminding me of the days a junk man would pass by my Grandmother’s house in Rhode Island. However, today I spotted a treasure – not just trash. He had an old wood chest in his cart so Don immediately flagged him down. Our friend Blanca talked to him and asked if he would be willing to sell this piece of junk. He was. We bought it. Fifteen soles. He was happy. I was delighted. Don was anticipating the work before him to get it restored!

Of course, the ladies at Pat’s Place (and the junk man) thought we were nuts! This piece was pretty dirty, ugly, and downright unattractive. However, we were able to see the finished work with a different set of eyes than everyone else.

Don and I began to work on the trunk. The children stopped to help remove layers of glued on paper. They enjoyed soaking the paper, and peeling it off. It was hard to make any progress with 4 or 5 children all getting their hands (and heads!) into the project. But it was fun for everyone.

A few days later our friend Richard came by and saw Don and I scraping off years of paint and crud from the wood and rust from the hinges. Richard got right in and gave Don a helping hand and soon I was out of a job. Between scraping, sanding, and scouring the old trunk the guys were able to find some very nice wood grain and uncovered a painted label indicating the original use of the trunk. It was for shipping. They also discovered some deteriorated (rotted!) areas. How sad. But Richard, being the Peruvian with the knowledge we were missing, began to take the trunk apart, and soon had the individual pieces of wood that needed to be replaced in his arms ready to take a walk. A day or two later he returned with new pieces of wood, cut to size to be used to put the trunk back together. The restoration process was well underway, although some slats were new wood.

After a final sanding, giving the wood a couple of coats of sealer, painting the hinges black and adding leather straps for handles, everyone in the house found a new love and appreciation for this piece of trash. It was transformed into a piece to treasure.

We, too, are trashy or junky aren’t we? I mean, seriously, we have a lot to be desired about us. We are not attractive on the inside or outside at times. We are valued though and a true treasure to our Father in heaven. It takes time to fix our problems, to correct the bad areas, to become what He wants us to be. We have some rough edges that need sanding down and with just the right amount of pressure and continual stroking, the rough areas become smoother and eventually quite nice. We have some stains that need to be removed. We may have years of junk that we seem to never get rid of. We need to work on our thoughts and attitudes even though we confess our sins. When we sin, and repent, restoration is immediate as He welcomes us with open arms. But it still is a process we must go through to become restored in the eyes of others. You see, others see only what we were, and it takes time for them to learn to trust and believe we have changed. The trunk was in bad shape and undesirable to many when we first purchased it. That’s similar to us when we are living in sin. Who wants us? No one! But our Heavenly Father who loves us beyond our comprehension. Only after caring for, working on, and providing what was needed, does the trunk have a new value and purpose. That’s similar to us when we turn our lives over to the Lord. Scripture tells us that we are chosen by God out of all the people of the earth to be His treasured possession!