“HIDDEN TREASURE”

Pam and I were in Panhandle, Texas last month on business and for a for a visit with family.  On Friday Pam was out and about with one of her sisters and stopped by an estate sale.   She had decided to give Lyndsey a dresser in one of our bedrooms and needed a piece of furniture to fill the vacant spot.  She saw a table that she thought would be a good replacement…if we could fit it in the Escalade.  She often believes I can fit “anything” in my truck.

The next day (Saturday) Panhandle was having a city-wide garage sale and she planned on a great browsing day with her  sister.  Of course, everyone know that the early bird gets the treasures at a garage sale.  She called me from the estate sale and asked me  to rush over and see if I thought this table would be a good  fit for the bedroom as well as the Escalade.  I arrived with a tape measure and did my due diligence.  We decided it would be a  good fit and she made an offer that was below the asking price.  She likes to talk-down the asking  price while  she is treasure hunting.  The offer was accepted and we had a new  (old) table.

The table was sound with no loose joints or  wobbly legs.  The only thing in doubt was the top.  The previous owner had covered the top with contact paper.  When I say the paper was not very attractive, I am being generous.  It was awful.  We wondered what was hidden under the paper.  When I got the  table back to  Jasper, I made a more detailed inspection.  There were three unpainted wooden strips underneath the table that had been added to give support to the drawer.  I may not be able to recognize “treasures” like Pam, but I do know how  to make necessary repairs, as well as give them an  excellent finish…rehabilitation.  I discovered the reason for the  wooden strips.  On one side of the drawer there was a wooden strip missing that was supposed to be the guide for  the drawer to slide in a groove on the table.  I don’t understand why anyone would use three wooden strips to make the drawer slide perfectly when gluing a small strip  to the side of the drawer would correct the problem.  I removed the “band-aids” that had been used and added the missing strip.

Next, was the removal of the contact paper to discover what was being hidden.  I knew if there were bad scratches under the paper I would be able to make the necessary repairs.  Because we were planning on painting the table, scratches presented no problem.  When I got all  the paper removed, I began to strip the  old varnish from the top.  As the varnish was being removed, I discovered what was hidden.  The wood was beautiful!!!  I love beautiful wood and many times I experience serious pains when I am asked to cover it with paint.  This was one of  those occasions.  I called Pam to the shop to look at the wood.  She agreed that paint on this wood would keep the treasure “hidden.”  So, we decided to stain the  wood on top and  paint the remainder of the table.  One of my favorite stains is “pecan” so I that was my choice.

Take a look and see if you agree we had found a “hidden treasure.”

*****

As we go though life we pick and choose the people we want to associate with.  Some of these are people we are friendly with and others we  consider our close friends.  We normally go about this by making worldly judgments.  They may  look successful, or they make look like a failure.  They may be attractive or appear not so attractive.  How many times do we miss a “hidden treasure” when we think someone is an unattractive failure?  How many times do we discover the people we have chosen to associate with have hidden traits that are covered by a facade?  The only way we can discover what is beneath is take time to look at the “fruit” from the tree.  It is not an easy task so we must have the patience to look beneath the appearance.  That is where the treasure is…or in some cases where there is no treasure.

That is the  way God does it!  He examines our hearts to determine if His Spirit resides.  The world examines our outward appearance, but God examines our  heart.  If He finds Himself within our heart, He finds a “hidden treasure.”  We must strive daily to not keep this “treasure hidden” from the world.