LOST TREASURE FOUND!
A long long time ago (okay, just thirteen years ago) I started searching flea markets for “treasures” for this shop. I loved it right away. And when I say “treasures” that’s exactly how I saw every one of them, big or small, shiny or rusted, old or much older. I do believe my heart rate rose during each search. And then there was the wonder of it all, that something this old had made it’s way to the twenty-first century and we could hold it, appreciate it and repurpose it. But because it was being sold at a flea market, most likely someone didn’t want it anymore, couldn’t appreciate the uniqueness of it or see a purpose for it any longer.
While pondering these thoughts, I wondered if that is the way we view ourselves. Are we productive and useful, influential and powerful?
Do we own the right things, do the right things, go to the right places? Do we measure up? I believe each of us yearns to be accepted and loved just the way we are. By this I mean not the person we present to the world on Instagram. I’m speaking about an acceptance not based on how much we can produce and how well we can produce it, how good we look, how much money we make or how much influence we have. I’m talking about the real honest to goodness, fully unveiled you and me. That means the person who makes mistakes sometimes no matter how hard they try, the person who has spinach in their teeth and forgot to put on deodorant today. The person who sometimes doesn’t look good, sometimes doesn’t feel good and sometimes doesn’t act good.
My heart breaks for anyone who is feeling this way today. I have been there and I know it can cause a fierce amount of anxiety, can produce depression, chronic exhaustion and make life on this earth appear hopeless - like we could never be as good as the world expects us to be. The standard is just too high. And we are imperfect people who can never expect to be perfect. Is there any hope at all for us?
Yes, there is! He’s the creator of it all, including you and me. He knows we’re not perfect, doesn’t expect us to be and accepts us just the way we are. He is gentle, kind and loving towards you. He wants only the best for you, delights in you, thinks about you, cherishes you and longs for your company any time day or night. He knows the burdens of this world are too much for you to carry alone and promises to carry them for you. He made you just the way He wanted you to be, He planned you (even if your parents didn’t). His love never fails, He’s not fickle with his emotions and will never walk away from you. He is good always.
Yet, I am well aware that the mention of a creator God might be hard for some to reconcile in their minds considering the condition of this world. Bad things happen to people who don’t deserve it. Where is God in that? Maybe God is indifferent to some people? Perhaps we are being punished by God. But these ideas are simply not true. God’s character is good and he can not contradict himself. Evil is the absence of good. Evil exists because God is also love and love does not force it’s will upon another. We are able to make choices - run to God or run the other way. God will not make you do anything.
You are His treasure. To him you always have value and purpose. And I promise, that if you are breathing right now, He has a plan and a purpose for your life which will far exceed anything you could dream of on your own. He knows your desires, your abilities, your personality and the gifts he has given to you. Have you ever wondered why some things come so easily to you and not the general population? He has given you innate abilities! He also knows every experience you have had. So you can count on whatever His purpose and plan is for you, it will be something you will get joy from doing.
I have felt a few times during my life like the world had chewed me up and spit me out. At once such low point, admitting to myself I couldn’t maneuver through this life on my own and that I couldn’t be perfect came easily. I needed relief from the burden of grief, regret and guilt. It was during the last of these times that I came to believe in my heart that Jesus was the son of God and that He died on a cross to pay the price for my failings. I never again needed to feel condemned, guilty, ashamed and inadequate. I’ve never regretted my decision once in 35 years.
God offers everyone a gift. He so desires to have a relationship with us that Jesus came and paid the price for every wrongdoing that everybody in the entire world every committed or would commit. He suffered so that you could live a free and full life. If you believe that Jesus came to deliver you from a life of despair and ask Jesus to rescue you, you will become a new creation so that once you were a lost treasure and now you are found!
