One of the things that I
like to do is haunt thrift shops. There are great ones, good ones and junkie
ones. We are fortunate to have one that looks like a junkie one, but is really
a gold mine of great finds. It is the Goodwill Outlet store. Yes- Goodwill has
an outlet! Nothing is displayed. Similar items are grouped in areas of the warehouse. You rummage through bins for clothing. Boxes of household goods are
placed on tables. Toys are found in barrels. Books are in 3'x3' crates. Lamps
and vacuum cleaners are lined up along the wall. At the register you can
negotiate prices. It is cluttered, dirty and a whole lot of fun.
On Wednesdays I work in
San Luis. It is a long day of split shifts. My first starts at 8:45AM and I
finish at 7PM. I have several afternoon hours to myself. This grand bazaar of
used treasure is right around the block. Hard to resist.
I went in, not wanting or
needing anything in particular. I looked around and found a married couple
reviewing some Christmas things they had found. That drew me over and I started
pawing through a box. It was full of old, very ugly decorations. Then I started
to find some pieces that interested me.
Larry passed away last
August, it had already been planned that we get together as a family at Kira
and Stewart's home in Utah. Another tender mercy of perfect timing from a
loving Heavenly Father; I will be doing something other than the normal routine for
Christmas. It will make Larry's absence at this holiday a little easier to
bear. Since Dan and I will be gone a week for Christmas and there is only the
two of us, we decided to get a small tree. Dan said we didn't need one, but I do.
In the box of discards I
started to find small heart ornaments. I am finding that I am drawn to the
shape of hearts. In the past, if you were to ask me what I like, I wouldn’t
have an answer. Over the past two years, I have taken to purchase, on impulse,
items that I am drawn to. Normally, I would talk myself out of getting myself
anything, so this is something new. As I have examined my purchases,
specifically pins, they are mostly hearts. I was drawn to the heart ornaments,
I thought of my own wounded heart and the great loving heart of our Savior
whose birth we are celebrating. What a perfect thing for my Christmas tree this
year! Symbols of two things that are dear to me.
A large item came into
view as I looked in the box- a needlepoint donkey with a chicken on it's back.
First thing I considered was that it was from the story 'The Bremen Town
Musicians', until I uncovered what looked like a shepherd.
Ahhh, this was from
a nativity set. Then it became a hunt.
I found a cow. 
That was all; I emptied
out the box and found no more.
Check it out...there was another box right next
to me! Hunt, hunt- found Mary and 
a manger with a sheep.
I set up my little
nativity on the floor to see what it looked like. It is dated and a little
bent. I liked it, but it was missing an element. Were there more pieces? Where
was Jesus? I was in a thrift store, going through miscellaneous boxes. There
was no guarantee that all the pieces would be there or even together. Then it
became very important to me to find Jesus. The main individual that brought
these random characters together was missing. The scene didn't have it's
heart.
I started leafing through
the boxes, then searching, then emptying them piece by piece to find Jesus. In
my heart and mind, I heard my self exclaiming- "Where is Jesus?" This
little unwanted nativity needed to be complete. I was unconscious of the people
around me; I was focused solely on my task. What if it was lost long before it
was donated? What if it got separated? I was getting concerned and grieving
the loss as my search was not yielding my treasure. Then at the bottom of the
second box, I found Baby Jesus, in perfect shape. I smiled- a lot. Peace
flooded into my soul. I found Jesus.
There was no second-guessing; this unwanted, discarded, funky little
nativity set was coming home with me.
