blue glasswareIt’s no secret that I am a “professional” yard saler. It’s not really in my bio, but maybe it should be. I guess the term “professional” defines someone who makes money from that endeavor, yet I don’t make money from it, but wouldn’t saving thousands of dollars count?

If a hidden treasure is out there to find, most likely I have found it.  But every once in awhile something just strikes me, and it’s not about the item, or the item’s use, or even the practicality of what it can bring to my household. It’s about something a little deeper.

Yes, I am pondering the presence of my yard sale find. 🙂

The color of this cup jumped out at me, and I knew she would look perfect on my window sill. She was standing all by herself on a nasty, wooden table surrounded by heaps of junk, but somehow she called to me, and it was more than the $0.25 price tag.

As we reached home, I washed her up and placed her in her rightful place. She glistened as the sunlight streamed through just so, and I was memorized at what a little clean up could do, and then I saw it…

antique glassware

…a chip on the side of the glass; a chip which caused her to lose her purpose – to no longer be wanted by her owner.

But I wanted her.

I didn’t know she was broken, but now that I did, I wanted to keep her even more.

She reminds me of myself. Maybe you’ll recognize her as well.

When I found her, she stood by herself amidst of sea of junk, broken, lonely, and wondering if her purpose was of value. She, knew intimately her flaws, but still desired to be used.
Daily, I look at this beautiful glass, and am reminded how easy it is to wash ourselves up, put on our pretty face, and hide our chips from those looking. Yet, she ministers to me in a deeper way. That chip speaks words of truth to me declaring that from our chips comes true beauty. They are our story that needs to be shared. The washing and hiding process becomes pretty exhausting.
I want to pour LIFE from my cup, but with that story comes flaws.

kitchen shelfA lot of people passed up that beautifully, unique yard sale cup, but one person wanted her, and to that one person, she spoke beauty.

Right now, I think it’s the best quarter I have ever spent, and I have spent a lot of them. (I think it just beat out my yard sale find of a lifetime.)

Today as I wash my dishes and catch the sunlight twinkles which glimmer off the side of the chip, I will remember to use my cup to its fullest, inadequacies and all.

If I truly live the “31 Days to More with Less” inspiration, I need Less of the “More Me” mentality and that’s a hard one.

The next time you’re out thrifting and you pass by a beautiful piece of chipped glassware, remember that our true beauty comes in the midst of recognizing our flaws, because when we mix all our mismatched lives together, we write one amazing story.