Made New Again

Every few months I drop off some items at one of my favorite thrift stores. It’s one of the nicest ones around, run by a local church.

On my last visit I was headed out of the store when I noticed some Christmas decorations that appeared to be in good condition. I hadn’t purchased any in years, and decided we could use an additional piece or two. Among the items that caught my attention was a beautiful fruit/floral arrangement in an antiqued gold pot. It had deep burgundy apples and berries, and large green and burgundy leaves with gold brushed throughout.

I picked up the piece to locate the price. It was surprisingly lightweight as if it was made of foam. Three dollars! I couldn’t resist taking it home.

“Wally, look what I just got for $3.00 at Hope Thrift,” I told him as soon as I got home. “We could use this for Christmas or even after Christmas,” I said as I placed it on the center kitchen countertop.

“Oh no! It’s damaged,” I exclaimed when I noticed one of the four corners of the gold base was chipped, exposing a white substance.

“Had I seen that in the store, I wouldn’t have purchased it,” I said with disappointment. I knew all sales were final.

“Why don’t you just touch it up with some paint,” Wally suggested.

“That’s a great idea.”

Shortly thereafter I went up to my craft room and found some gold matte paint and a sponge brush. In less than five minutes, I brushed the white damaged corner with gold paint. Not bad.

After it dried I showed it to Wally. “You have to really look at it to notice it’s missing a chunk out of the corner,” I told him.

“You can’t even tell,” he replied.

I assume the previous owners donated the arrangement because it was damaged. To me, it’s a lovely piece now displayed on a small chest in our foyer.

Repairing the pot made me think about my relationship with God. Before I was a Christian, I had many wounds because of my childhood. In spite of my imperfections, God pursued me. He saw potential in me and knew that he could heal those wounds and make me whole again.

After I surrendered my life to Christ and became a Christian on Christmas night 1980, my life dramatically changed. My interests changed. My thoughts changed. My habits changed. It was as if I gradually became brand spanking new!

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; all things become new.

I’m so glad that God doesn’t overlook us or toss us aside when we’re wounded in any way. Instead, He sees our potential. With a little, or maybe a lot, of His repair work, anyone can be made new again!

(Below is a “before” photo of the arrangement in our kitchen with the chip in the lower left corner.)

The second is the “after” photo of the arrangement in our foyer with the painted area in the lower right corner.)