Discards

You know the adage.."one man's trash is another man's treasure" Well - I think I found some treasure in my garage sale, flea market visits- one is a creamer, and the other is a sugar bowl- they actually don't match, I bought them 100's of miles apart- but they both caught my attention, and they are now on their way to my home in upstate NY. Both have raised floral designs, and I bought them not knowing what exactly the base metal was from which they were created. The creamer was heavy and I was pretty sure it was pewter. The sugar bowl was declared to be silver plated by the store's employee, and a view of the bottom seemed to agree with that statement. It showed appearance of silver with black areas that have been chipped away. Both were dull in their appearance.
I got out the silver polish when I got back to Andrea's place, and the creamer cleaned up really nicely. I believe it is pewter and only for a couple of dollars!
Then I was on to the sugar bowl. We did pay more for this..but I have to tell you that the one thing that stood out on this common particular bowl, was its unusual shape, and the fact that it had a tiny baby scoop attached to it. The store clerk called it a 'master' sugar bowl (whatever that means) but I liked it, so my dear hubby bought it for me! When I got home and studied it further, I noted it had what looked like a coat of arms mark on the bottom. now what this mark actually means I have been unable to find out, but what I did decide to do was treat it as if it was silver, not silver plated, and I started using some muscle to rub OFF the black spots, and guess what??? the most beautiful silver did appear!! so I do believe this wonderful sugar bowl is a silver treasure- not necessarily worth a whole lot more than we paid, but certainly more of a treasure to me! (oh yes it is called a sugar scuttle because of its shape resembles a coal scuttle)
Isn't it pretty? I still need to polish it some more, but that is ok.

When I was cleaning these pieces up I was reminded of how God sees us, when we come to him... with all our potential, all that we can be, hidden by the blackness of our sins. Someone once told me that they thought another human being was the devil himself, but I think when scripture tells us we- war not against flesh and blood, but powers and principalities- it means that though the influence might be evil, the source is in the supernatural, and we can pray and believe that God's will be done- even in that influenced one. We don't always know why certain people act the way they do- whether it be an unseen wound, so deep it festers. or a weakness in their fleshly makeup- it doesn't really matter, because my God can get to the source of the problem, and he IS in the business of healing and reconciliation. So sometimes when all we see is blackness- whether it be self loathing, condemnation, or criticism of another- I remember that is NOT what God sees, and I take hope in HIS redemptive power!