Who doesn't love a good yard sale? Sometimes we think we can pick out the good ones just by driving by, but no my friend. Sometimes the best finds are in the least places expected. Yard sales are all different too. Some have things laid out and scattered about, while others are a neat, hung, and even have snacks for you. Yes, there are those few that sell soda and water. Who doesn't need hydrated from all that searching?We can find the greatest treasures at yard sales. I love looking through clothes, while my husband seeks the tools and anything of power. I look for dainty bracelets, while my son looks for old movies. We all seem to have our own picks of what we look for. You can redecorate your home. You can find things for that newly married couple, and for that little one on the way.
What is funny, is the fact that at one time we searched the racks for just the right shirt to go with that skirt, along with that black pair of heals, and paid a nice price for them, but now? They are pulled out of closets, drawers, and basements, being sold for just pennies of what we once thought they were worth. Our deepest treasures no longer give us that smile, but now as another sees them, they light up at their find. You know after a day of yard sales, if you bring home just one great find you are happy all weekend. But most likely, at your next yard sale, that very treasure you purchased on Treasure Avenue will be sold for even cheaper to the next person searching through all your unwanted stuff.
Now, don't get me wrong. I love yard sales, resale shops and those clearance racks. I get giddy just knowing how much something originally cost, and the price now on that little red tag. But we live in a I WANT society. It seems as though we spend our lives searching for those little trinkets, those treasures to add to our life, only to toss them aside a few months later, or even just wearing them once.
A few months ago I cleaned out our closets, drawers and cabinets to find much we no longer needed. We had bags and bags of clothes. We gave them to charity, hoping to bless another family, as we were so blessed when we ourselves were in need. As I sat there, I was mentally calculating the worth of all these clothes in bags before me, and I was amazed to realize how many times I said, "I WANT", when I really didn't need it. Even when we have all we need, a good buy still catches our eye. We seem to think if we can't use it someone else can.
We spend more time wanting, and searching, than we do being content. And isn't that our goal? To be content with what we have? We see a girl with a new purse and think, "Wow, isn't that cute." We see a girl in a summer dress, and think to ourselves, "I gotta have one of those for church." We see, and we must have. Are we ever happy with just what we have? It is the world's way to have more. The more we have the more important we are. The more we have in our closets, our drawers, and homes. It's as though the more we have the happier we are.But hidden behind all that stuff are all those emotions just waiting to be let go of. Almost every buy we make has some emotion to it. Think about that for a minute. If we are buying something that has so much emotion attached to it, should we be opening up our wallet or our heart? Instead of digging deep into our purses we need to be digging deep into why we are feeling as though we need more to bring happiness.
All this stuff accumulates into piles everywhere. We can never have enough of anything. My point is, "Why does it make us feel good when we purchase something?" We can wake feeling blue, and get in the car, driving to the local mall, filling our bags, coming home with a glow, but whatever made us feel blue to begin with is still there when we get home and unload those bags. Ever feel guilty after you have spent money? If there is guilt attached, then we need to place that item back on the rack and move on.
We live in such a way that we think stuff is going to complete us. Stuff doesn't complete any of us, it only adds to more clutter. I am one of those emotional buyers. Yes, when this girl is tired, hurting and feel like I am going to fall apart you can find me in the closest purse section. In each purse I have I can tell you exactly what was going on in my life for me to buy that purse. And in buying that purse it only made me feel better for about as long as it took me to clean out my other one, and place all my stuff into it!
When we are hurting, there is nothing in that mall that is going to bring us lasting happiness. Happiness is an emotion that comes and goes according to our feelings. Joy is added to our hearts, placed there by a loving God, and is there through those good days and bad. When we can find joy, we can find peace, contentment, and freedom from pain.
Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
When you pass by all those yard sales along I WANTED BLVD, take a peek at all they are letting go of. Think for a moment at what cost did they spend for it all? Sometimes it is a marriage gone wrong. Sometimes it is bankruptcy and the family is losing all, trying to find a way to stay above the current trying to drag them under. For each trinket we find, it is a trinket that another once held dear. Before you purchase that trinket think of what the cost is to you. If it is a need, drive it home to FOUND A BUY LANE. If it's not want you are needing, walk away knowing you are content in all you have. Blessed and not wanting, finding treasure in Jesus Christ. Allowing Him to fill us with all we need to not just stay afloat, but to soar above the water below!
