One of my favorite things to do is what I like to call treasure hunting. I wear a special pair of boots on days reserved for this. Call me crazy, but I always seem to find the best treasures on days that I wear my special boots. There's nothing magical about them, just a serendipitous way of looking at them. So, I love to scour thrift shops with nothing particular in mind. My radar searches for old chandeliers, buttons, ornate frames, crafting supplies and anything that can be brought back to life with a freshness that will bring delight. It never fails that my creativity is on high alert when I begin to feel the material of clothing that has been abandoned by one, only to be rescued by another. You know the old cliche; one man's trash is another man's treasure.
The way that I look at it is that I can either pay full price for something, or I can pay a little of nothing and have much more. As I walk the color coded isles of clothing I let the colors, patterns, and types of fabric come to life in ways that are far from the factory rendition of the clothing itself. Recently, my daughters and I went treasure hunting for material to make aprons. We hit the thrift store on half price day and rummaged the skirt isle. We had so many ideas for aprons that we had to limit our supply. We were in overload - with both skirts and creative ideas.
A few years ago my son was stationed in Fort Huachuca, Arizona to complete his training for the Army. My daughters and I flew in to spend the fourth of July with him. We took a small trip to Bisbee, Arizona; a quaint little Swiss looking town that is now inhabited by old hippies. The town is full of antique shops, thrift stores, restaurants, and fabulous houses. It was during this escapade that I realized that all three of my children loved walking through the shops and finding treasures. I bought us all a few to take back to our respective homes. I found this adventure to be enlightening because as much as I love to treasure hunt, this is the one experience that stands above all the rest. I embraced sharing my passion with my children and seeing their faces light up with the same delight that I felt.
I reflected on the passages in Colossians 2:3 that speaks of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge and in Matthew 6:20 that tells us to store our treasures in heaven. Of all the treasure hunting I've done or will do, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt the treasures that I will have with me throughout eternity are my three most prized possessions - my children.
Thank you Lord for your gift of salvation, for the wisdom and the knowledge to pass on to my children this message, for rescuing each of us with your saving grace, and for the greatest of all treasures - to spend eternity together with You.
