Well I woke up this week with crappy pink eye! So where does that leave me? With these bad boys:
If you can’t tell, my glasses are SUPER thick! I can’t tell the difference between a trash can and a China cabinet without them. So, you can imagine why I rarely wear glasses, and how necessary it is to have them or my contacts in. I’m almost legally blind without one or the other.
In the midst of having pink eye, Griffin and I ventured out to run some errands. I passed a run down thrift store on the way to our destination. I felt God tugging at me to turn around. I could feel Him saying “There’s a treasure there for you to bring life to.” But I ignored it and told myself if I still felt the urge on the way home, then I’d stop.
On the drive home I was praying (the car is usually a place of worship or prayer… Or sing along to Old McDonald). I wasn’t really paying attention to much besides Griffin, my Passion cd, and the road. But, the sign for the Thrift store stood out once again. I had all but forgotten about it. So we pulled in. This thrift store is located across the street from some nicer buildings and restaurants. I noticed a few people getting out of nicer cars. One family was getting out near my car to walk across because there wasnt much parking across the street. Have you ever noticed someone giving you, what I like to call the “stink eye?” It’s a look that literally looks like they smell something bad or you look like you’re covered in something crazy. Maybe like the slime off of the show “Family Double Dare.” *You 80s and 90s kids will understand that reference!
Anyway, I looked up at some of those “nice looking” families and realized they were pulling their kids quickly away from the direction I was headed, with Griff in tow. It was a look of absolute disgust that we were walking in to shop in a thrift store. One lady even did a double take over her shoulder. And I pray that it’s because Griff is so darn cute, opposed to the poor attitude that I felt shoot through me with the “stink eye.”
Sadness crept over me. Not for me, because I could care less what people thought about why I was shopping at one of “those places.” But for people that feel that judgment regularly. People shop in bargain stores for all kinds of things, for all different reasons. For us, I knew God called me there to find something to restore, and I’m trying to not break the bank with the amount of projects I’m working on. But for some people, they shop there because it’s all they can afford. But in reality, WHO CARES why people shop there. Who cares where people shop period. I say this in reference to myself as well. Sadness also crept in, because at some point or another: college, high school, even in adulthood… I, too, have judged someone for their outward appearance, or thought “We don’t need to shop there.” How dare me? And how dare anyone else? I pray God forgives me for any ounce of judgment I’ve placed on someone based on name brand, clothes, car, home, etc. If I made someone feel as looked down upon as those ladies made me feel walking in, I am truly sorry. I stopped at the door and told Griffin that we are going to smile and say hello to every person we passed in that store, so that we could make them loved. And he did! That friendly booger waved and clapped! He said “Hey,” and blew kisses. We enjoyed our time AND we found a treasure! God was right… He sent me there for a reason… A gut check to make sure I teach my children how to love regardless of where someone shops, what they drive, what kind of home they live. And also to find that one man’s “trash” is another man’s treasure. To someone else, this piece is trash. The clerk even told me someone asked him why they hadn’t thrown the head and footboard away already, because “No one will buy that.”
If I had given this piece the “stink eye” and not have been willing to spend some time sanding and painting it, it wouldn’t look like this! It will be a bench for our front porch at the end of this week. And I am SO excited. Appearance is ONLY the surface of who/what somebody/something is. Don’t pass judgment so quickly. Take a second look, put on your glasses to see people clearly, and offer love to those who have such beautiful structure and potential.
house of stain 