When old is new...

Once again, I have been humbled by how very thankful people have been for things I only wished to discard, to be free of, to have out of my beautiful home.  I see them as trash, really, ugly things, and yet those who have received them have humbled me with their gratitude.  They see them as treasures, utterly beautiful.  I feel the absolute wretch!

The two air conditioning units and the fan now have new homes.  Tomorrow, someone is coming to fetch the old laundry cabinet/sink combination.  The faucet is broken and would be an expensive repair unless you know how to rebuild it.  Unless you happen to be able to track down a used one, it cannot be replaced by modern faucets since it is on a beveled surface.  The plumber is coming on Monday to move the washing machine so it is no longer plugged in with an extension cord and repair the broken drain line and I want it gone so he has the space to do his work.

The folk who took the refrigerator had been keeping their stuff in the snow.  The ones who retrieved the large  AC today actually cried in gratitude, thankful they would no longer swelter through the summer.  The couple who are coming for the sink are elderly and are looking forward to having storage and a sink next to their washing machine.

The chandelier, the moving boxes, the porcelain figurines, the office supplies, the books, the DVDs, the CDs, the refrigerator, the pipes, the roofing tiles, the air conditioners, the sink...I am forgetting still more...all have new homes with people who were truly thankful to receive my cast-offs.  It's all about perspective, eh?

So much, these days, has been about perspective.  Mine...well...in many ways...is quite skewed.  There are some things I understand better than most, ways God has given me discernment beyond...or because...of my experience.  But in many more ways I simply do not see clearly, do not understand.

The sweet, sweet Gospel, in many ways, is the simplest message on earth.  Yet how I see it, how I hear it, how I receive it, is oft clouded, skewed, by perspective.

I look at those things and think they are rubbish, not worth saving, not even worth the effort to sell them.  Better to just see if someone else wants them.

I look at myself and oft think I am rubbish, not worth saving.  I hear the words of others and believe them to be true rather than the Word I have been given.  I read the Word and yet see those words of failure.  So, how in the world, could Christ endure such humiliation, such agony, such loneliness, such heartache for me?


Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief!