As I previously told you, I am in the midst of a Winter Purge. My entire living area has been transformed by the attention I have given it and I am feeling very proud of my accomplishments. This is one "stay-cation" that has not been a total "waste of time". However, there have been some unexpected blessings from my labors.
I expected a cleaner abode and a more organized filing system. I expected to find "lost" pictures and cards or letters from unexpected sources. I expected to locate souvenirs and mementos from my travels that I'd forgotten about. What I didn't expected to find was all the dust! Just kidding. What I didn't expect to find was monetary blessings in various forms and in sundry locations.
In a pencil case holder, I found fifteen (15) silver certificate dollar bills. According to Internet, these dollars bills were issued for a limited time period and were backed by silver bullion, as opposed to our current currency which is backed by the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. Government. Further research shows that there is a small premium paid for these dollar bills over their face value - if they are uncirculated and in good condition. Current wisdom is that I take them to a coin collector and get them appraised for value. In two separate places, I found $2 bills totaling over $20. And in two other places, I found over $30 in golden dollars, Susan B. Anthony dollars and JFK half dollars. I guess I like to hide money from myself. I also found gift cards from Target, Starbucks and SpaEnvy, totaling over $75. But the biggest surprise find was a cashiers check sent to me for the Christmas holiday in 2016 for $50. I guess I never made it to the bank and then forgot about it. [I'll be headed to the bank first thing in the morning!] All in all, I had almost $200 just stashed around the house, hidden and forgotten.
Now I know you must be thinking, "what kind of person has that much money just hidden in her house that she forgot about? She must be rich!" Trust me when I tell you, that is NOT the case. With the $2 bills and golden dollars, there is an explanation. There was a time when, as a way to "save" money, with each paycheck I received, I would buy $2 bills and golden dollars from the bank, in increments of maybe $10 at a time. The golden dollars would then be passed on to cousins, nieces and other young people in my life on their birthdays as a "one to grow on" gift. And the $2 bills would be given whenever a baby in my life turned two. So, there was a method to my madness ... it's just that in time, I either paused in doing this, or hid the money in a different place and then forgot about the original hiding place. Rest assured, with this Winter Purge [almost] behind me, all the money has been gathered together in a single "hiding" place and won't be forgotten again.
All this got me to thinking though: there have been times in my life when I was "strapped" for cash - waiting for payday or some other monetary windfall - eating beans and rice and ramen noodles - forgoing outings with friends or meals outside the home because money was "tight". And all the time, the money was there - in the house, in my reach - available to me if I'd only remembered where I'd placed it.
How many times have the blessings of the Lord been available to us if we would only have the faith we need to "remember" where they are located. By this I mean, if we only remember how He had blessed us in the past, we could have then reached out in faith to take the blessings that are waiting for us. How many blessings do we receive every day and take for granted - not only life, physical and mental health, strength, food, shelter and clothing - the things that (I hope we) pray for on a daily basis - but the "unseen/hidden" blessings of safe travel to and from; a job that not only pays the bills, but provides for some of our wants on top of all of our needs; friends and family who pray for you, support you and love you in spite of; and just the blessing of God's love for us, which is confirmed for us each day that we open our eyes from sleep.
The amazing thing is that there are blessings that God has waiting for us that we cannot even imagine. 1 Corinthians 2:9 tells us that, But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. One of my favorite Christian writers tells us that, when we get to heaven, God is going to show us all of the blessings that could have been ours if we had just believed and asked. I don't know about you, but I think it's time that we ask God to open our eyes to see what He has for us. He has not hidden His love, grace, mercy and blessings. We just have to accept them into our lives. My goal for 2018 is to open my eyes and be more receptive and open. What about you?
Be blessed.
© 2018 Kristina E. Smith
PS: Photo taken by me when I found the second stash of $2 bills.
PS: Photo taken by me when I found the second stash of $2 bills.
No comments:
Post a Comment