We discovered these treasures in a bucket of trash. Old broken bottles, jars, trash and dirty junk with rough, rusty hard edges were the origins of these exquisite jewels. The local recycling plant had received them in their hopeless state and buffed them into sparkling gems. Now, precious stone shades of sapphire, jasper, emerald, chalcedony and topaz glimmer from this bucket and the tiny bits of trashy paper are faint reminders that treasures can come out of trash.
This trash transformation into treasure made us think of some of the hard times, challenges and rough patches that can come in life. When life's edges are rough, rusty and a bit broken, it's hard to see the good that can eventually come out of these times. In the midst of them one can wonder, "what can I do?" or "what will I do?"
A line from an old story can point us in the right direction:
"look instead for what God can do" ( John 9:3- The Message)
Those old broken bottles and jars probably thought it was really all over when life sent them to the trash, to a rough spot, to a desperate place. But now as they grace the finest spots in flower gardens, the focal points in art creations and this little blog spot, they'd probably be the first to shout "look what God can do!"
Finding the treasures in rough spots,
The Velvet Lime Girls