August 13, 2024

You know what I love so much… flea markets and thrift stores! Over seven years ago, the father of my two boys and I separated. It was a painful process in which we caused each other and ourselves a lot of misery and pain. It also took a while until I was finally assigned a house where I could make a new start. Because there was not enough budget for me to redecorate the whole house, I discovered the flea markets and thrift stores, and that is where my love for “meuk” (Dutch for rubbish😉) was born. “Meuk is fun” as we say in the Netherlands, which doesn’t sound very nice in English because it doesn’t rhyme, LOL Anyhow, I have now lived in this house for seven years and feel very blessed here. And although I have, of course, been settled for a long time and have all the comforts of home, my love for the flea market and thrift store has remained, and I therefore love to wander through all the junk in search of that hidden gem, LOL.  A while ago, there was a large flea market in the town where I grew up, which is an hour’s drive from my now hometown. My family all still live there. My mother, sister, and I had agreed to spend a day exploring the flea market in search of that hidden “pearl”. It was a super fun and enjoyable day, but the pearls were disappointing 😊. Yet, for some reason, the flea market kept reminding me of Jesus and His love for us. /*! elementor – v3.23.0 – 25-07-2024 */ .elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px} A pearl in God’s hand We all have a backpack, trauma, misery, naps and dents of life have left its mark. Discarded or put aside by people. But to God we are still a pearl (Matthew 13:45-46). Precious and valuable enough to lay down everything to buy us, save us, take us and carry us in His hand. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” – Matthew 13:45-46 His eye sweeps the world, looking for the one who opens his heart to Him. In His eyes, we are all precious; we are His creation. In His eyes, we are not rubbish but valuable treasures. No matter how many dents we have, God can always use us if we make ourselves open and available to Him. Be available to God We see in so many places in the Bible that God uses precisely those that people would probably ignore. When we look at the story of Joseph and Mary, for example. They had no fame, prestige and money. We can read in Leviticus 12:8 that God commanded the women who had given birth to sacrifice a lamb and a young pigeon or turtledove. But if the woman could not offer a lamb, she could offer two young pigeons or two turtledoves. When Mary gave birth to Jesus, she offered a small sacrifice (Luke 2:21-24) so we can see that they did not have much to spend, otherwise they would have provided the lamb. Yet God chose them to be Jesus’ earthly parents. He brought the most valuable thing He had to these people. He does not look at appearance, as we humans do, at position, origin or diplomas; God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). When we make ourselves available to Him, willing to be used by Him, He makes us useful. God sees your potential I look around my house with all the “junk” I found at flea markets and thrift stores over the years, and I’m still happy with all this stuff. It takes me back to the past-things that my grandparents also had in their house. They are treasures and pearls for me. When we choose Jesus, God no longer looks at our mistakes and sins from before. Then, when He looks at us, He sees Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:11), and He will not be able to take His eye off us (Job 36:7). It doesn’t matter where you come from, who has cast you aside as rubbish, or what you’ve been through. With Him, you will find your value again, and He will show you what you mean to Him; a pearl added to His treasury. I want to encourage you to open your heart to Him and stop trusting in, and listen to people (Isaiah 2:22, Psalm 146:3) but rather in the One who made you. People can sometimes see us as ‘junk’, but God sees your potential.