...it was just an old pick axe....

About a week ago, due to our impending move, instead of having a "garage sale," I set a whole bunch of odds and ends miscellaneous stuff on the curb with a sign that said, "FREE!" next to it. Within a few hours, everything was gone. Garden fences, new cat litter boxes, an outdoor BBQ grill, a hose and an old pick axe-- all found new homes.

Yesterday I received a note. In short, it said, "thank you for the axe. Once I replace the handle, it will be as good as new and I can't wait to begin using it for my many projects!"

That axe was, to me, just a piece of junk. I was tempted to toss it in the trash but on a whim, set it out with everything else. Someone was able to see something useful in that tool and decided that, with love and care, it would be good as new once more. That got me to thinking....

How about you? What are YOUR criteria when you see others in the world? Do you look for beauty? Size of house? Type of car? Maybe what someone does for a living is a precedent.

When I was in junior high, I remember a gal who was friendless. She didn't dress as all the popular girls did. She was painfully shy. She didn't even "look pretty" like many of the other girls were. However, she had a caring heart. She was helpful to teachers, polite to everyone, even to those who bullied her. I liked her. Then I moved away...but ran into her about four years ago. She was still the same: helpful, polite and eager to know others.

The point is: to see beauty, you must look deeper than what you may see initially. What you may think is worthy of being tossed aside, may in fact, be the best thing you have ever come across. When I met the man who is now my husband, he was unemployed., no thanks to the bad economy of 2008. He was so surprised that I wanted to be with him, despite his "lack of income." I told him that money means nothing...I had met many who had money and very little else. What he had was so much love and compassion within his heart, how could I resist that??

Where I am moving to, I had no use for an old axe, but someone saw the intrinsic value of it and appreciated it. When I was in Junior high, I saw the intrinsic value of inner beauty and made a friend. As an adult, I appreciate that money does not make a person, it is love, compassion and putting others first instead!

Today, what inner beauty, what usefulness do you see that can make something that others may toss aside, seem all the more wonderful to you? Beauty IS everywhere...we only need to open our eyes to it!
May God be with you all today!