Hidden Treasure

Thrift store shopping has seen quite a shift over the years. I grew up far from boujee, but thrift stores were to be avoided like the plague. I’m not sure how I developed such a strong aversion, but my grandmother certainly didn’t share it. She lived for the thrift store! I loved visiting my grandparents, but I dreaded the place of exchange. It always happened at the thrift store, and my grandmother was committed to discovering a treasure, even if it took all day.

There was a hit song about a decade ago that expanded the possibilities of thrifting. Thrifting wasn’t just tolerable, it became fashionable! Teenagers started bragging about their vintage Beetle T-shirt they discovered for a quarter.

Still, I never could get into it. I would give it a shot, but I seemed to lack the patience it took to discover the real treasures.

Bethany and I were looking for a table the other day and decided to give our local thrift shop a go. We’ve got some next-level thrift stores in our city! We casually made our way through the store, looking at an array of random things. Most items were organized in departments, but inevitably, a toaster would be in the shoe department or a piece of art in the lawn tools. As Bethany was walking along the magazine rack, she looked down and saw a new pair of Chaco Sandals. These sandals can run $100. I’m not paying that much for something not made from hide.

Here, these sandals resided under a rack of old magazines, pennies on the dollar. At last, I laid claim to my very own thrift store treasure! I gladly gave the clerk my money and slid my new treasure on my feet!

I’m not itching to frequent the thrift store anytime soon, but I was reminded of a great lesson. Sometimes we find treasure in unexpected places. Think of all we miss in life, only because we’ve predetermined that nothing is there. The sandals’ inherent value hadn’t changed. They were merely in a place no one expected. Someone simply needed to discover that they were there. It’s a lesson both in observation and value.

We have value not because of the sandals on our feet but because we’re God’s workmanship. We’ve been created and designed with God’s good works in mind. Sometimes our inherent value is hidden because we’re in an unexpected or unintended place. We’re like a pair of sandals trying to fit in with magazines, and that’s not the way God created us to be. One day, someone comes along and helps us discover who we were always meant to be. What a gift these people can be!

Don’t give up looking for treasure. Sure, we may find a great deal thrifting, but I’m talking about another kind of treasure. We can discover value in others when we’re committed to looking for it beyond the expected. I’m convinced there are a lot of hidden treasures in the world. It’s life-altering when someone comes along and helps us discover who we were created to be. We can be those people. All it takes is a commitment of observation, even in unexpected places.