I got a bike this past weekend for Father's Day. Not a new one- a used Cannondale with 18 gears. Which really didn't mean much to me as I was bidding on it at an estate auction- I liked the color. I won the bid paying $60 which I thought was a lot. Then the lady who owned the bike told me she paid more than $600 for the bike in 1982. I liked my new bike even better after that comment and was proud of my bargain purchase.
The bike was only one of many bids Sherri and I won. We bought boxes filled with 'stuff' for a dollar, boxes of books for two dollars and bags of new blankets and linens for a dollar. In the end we spent over $150 (including the cost of my bike) and filled one side of our garage with lots of 'things'.
Some of the dollar boxes were filled to the top with unique oddities- like the small 'Wonderful Wyoming' plastic toaster shaped salt and pepper shakers circa 1960's which our son Dan found funny and entertaining (original price tag on that beauty alone was $1.47). It's cool because of its age and the fact that the toast comes out to be used as salt and pepper shakers. See for yourself what a neat find this was and remember, coveting my toaster is a sin!
Sherri liked the professional grade hair curler she found in one of the boxes which was most likely worth $50 or more. I liked the outdoor gas grill complete with a brand new almost full propane tank which I got for $5. The old milk box came with an old-time bug sprayer inside which looked to me like an immediate way to get my cancer to return- just by touching it. Eight boxes of Christmas goods cost one dollar total- I guess no one else was in the mood for Christmas in the heat.
It was all just one more big reminder for me of the real value of 'things'. When you leave this world, all your stuff will be divided up among family or sold for mere pennies on the dollar to strangers at an auction. Some stuff you really liked will just be thrown out (like the candle in a sea-shell we tossed). By the next generation it will all be dump material- maybe even 'Wonderful Wyoming'.
So why do we value our stuff so highly? Why do we pay so much for so little that lasts such a short time? Why does our heart become so easily distracted by shiny gotta-have objects? Why, why why? In short, why don't we set our hearts on things above instead? If we did we would discover God's boxes of grace, bags of joy, and salt shakers of love, all for free.
I do try to set my mind on things above. And in the meantime, I enjoy an occasional auction of things here below. That's ok I think as long as I know nothing's coming with me in the end. I may try to sneak in the salt shaker with me just for fun though- you can ask me if I was successful one fine eternal day in the future!
Blest Regards,
kp
The bike was only one of many bids Sherri and I won. We bought boxes filled with 'stuff' for a dollar, boxes of books for two dollars and bags of new blankets and linens for a dollar. In the end we spent over $150 (including the cost of my bike) and filled one side of our garage with lots of 'things'.
Some of the dollar boxes were filled to the top with unique oddities- like the small 'Wonderful Wyoming' plastic toaster shaped salt and pepper shakers circa 1960's which our son Dan found funny and entertaining (original price tag on that beauty alone was $1.47). It's cool because of its age and the fact that the toast comes out to be used as salt and pepper shakers. See for yourself what a neat find this was and remember, coveting my toaster is a sin!
Sherri liked the professional grade hair curler she found in one of the boxes which was most likely worth $50 or more. I liked the outdoor gas grill complete with a brand new almost full propane tank which I got for $5. The old milk box came with an old-time bug sprayer inside which looked to me like an immediate way to get my cancer to return- just by touching it. Eight boxes of Christmas goods cost one dollar total- I guess no one else was in the mood for Christmas in the heat.
It was all just one more big reminder for me of the real value of 'things'. When you leave this world, all your stuff will be divided up among family or sold for mere pennies on the dollar to strangers at an auction. Some stuff you really liked will just be thrown out (like the candle in a sea-shell we tossed). By the next generation it will all be dump material- maybe even 'Wonderful Wyoming'.
So why do we value our stuff so highly? Why do we pay so much for so little that lasts such a short time? Why does our heart become so easily distracted by shiny gotta-have objects? Why, why why? In short, why don't we set our hearts on things above instead? If we did we would discover God's boxes of grace, bags of joy, and salt shakers of love, all for free.
I do try to set my mind on things above. And in the meantime, I enjoy an occasional auction of things here below. That's ok I think as long as I know nothing's coming with me in the end. I may try to sneak in the salt shaker with me just for fun though- you can ask me if I was successful one fine eternal day in the future!
Blest Regards,
kp
No comments:
Post a Comment