Do you like to throw things away, or are you the sort of person, like me, who enjoys rescuing things from the trash? I hate throwing away plastic utensils, strong enough for multiple uses. I fold tissue paper from gift bags, saving it for future use. Are such discarded items trash or treasure? Should we be finding value in rubbish?
Note about the image. I wanted a picture of the arrangement I wrote about, but the images didn’t turn out. I offer this photo instead, in the spirit of how beautiful my trash-to-treasure arrangement most certainly looks. LOL.
My Mysterious Mind
A familiar saying is: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” As a lifelong packrat, I confess to being the “man” who finds treasure where others see trash. My mom, a child during the Great Depression whose parents lost their farm, was taught resourcefulness and frugality. My dad, with his pile of scrap metal, demonstrated clever re-purposing of trash for his inventions. Necessity is the mother of invention, and ingenuity can bring new purpose for rubbish.
For example, I wanted to make some napkin rings out of something I had on hand. In my drawer of random bits of ribbon and rope I found a decorative cord wound from three strands. I cut the lengths I needed and unwound the strands. Voila! I made cute twisty cords to tie around my cloth napkins (which, by the way, were actually repurposed placemats).
Our dogs are both adopted, not purchased. Smudgie was rehomed through a rescue agency and Oscar was found by a friend who knew we were open to another dog. We know Smudgie’s owner decided she didn’t want this dog anymore. Oscar’s story is a mystery to us; he was desperately thin when my friend rescued him from a busy intersection in the cold, January rain. He wasn’t “fixed” or house-trained. His severe separation anxiety is a testament to a former life of being homeless and possibly abused. He could be considered “special needs” because he cannot be left alone unless he’s in his kennel; but his loyalty and companionship are worth the trouble. One person’s trash, Oscar is my treasure.
My son, his wife, and our youngest grandson were just here for a few days. My daughter-in-law made several beautiful floral arrangements while she was here. After she and her family left, I found two plastic cups with the unused flowers, ones she rejected for various reasons. My treasure-from-trash mentality kicked into gear. I made myself an arrangement of the abandoned flowers, including some from another arrangement whose flowers were mostly wilted. In a way this salvage operation felt like “getting something from nothing.”
Other examples include my neighbor making a “scrapper quilt” for our youngest grandson. This quilt was made of unused bits of fabric from several other quilts. It was beautiful! I have a small basket of paper scraps I use for notes; these scraps are from sheets of paper destined for the recycle bag. In Washington, DC, the residents put unwanted items by the sidewalk in front of their homes, not for the trash company to collect, but for passersby to take what they want. Going for a walk is like passing through a flea market where all the items are free.
What do you see when your eyes fall upon what someone else calls trash? Do you see value in what others might consider rubbish? If you want a message about decluttering and throwing a bunch of things into the landfill – this is not the place to find it. It brings me great joy to turn trash into treasure. And, when it comes to people, I don’t see any throw-away humans. I can look at a person, no matter what their current appearance or situation, and see potential for something better. My “treasure-from-trash” mentality applies to stuff and to people, finding value in what others consider rubbish.
Message of Mystery Acres
My husband and I added a small, unfinished cabin to our property three years ago. The cabin was built new for us; our approach to finishing it has been to use repurposed items as much as possible. The back wall is finished using barnwood from an old barn at my parent’s farm. The carpet is leftover pieces from recarpeting our church. Two of the curtains were made by a friend from an unwanted shower curtain. The ceilings under the lofts are going to be covered by pickets from an old fence. The bathroom door was purchased at a salvage center; I repainted it with leftover paint. The bathroom vanity is a wooden cabinet from a previous office, left as unclaimed property by a former colleague. The ceilings are going to be covered by old barn tin.
Some people find joy in new things; I love claiming new joy from old things. Growing up on a farm I learned that trash that isn’t burned must be dumped into a ravine somewhere or reused somehow. We didn’t have a trash service that took our unwanted stuff to an out-of-sight landfill. My dad still lives this way.
When my husband and I visit Mystery Acres we treat our trash like we do at home. We bag it up and put it in the dumpster for the trash service to take to the landfill. The exception is the cabin. Here we have claimed a treasure-from-trash approach. There are new things in the cabin; but the beds, table, and chairs were donated by friends, the mattress for the loft is from a bed we used to have at our house, and the cots for the other loft were unwanted daycare items. Old things have new life and purpose in the cabin at Mystery Acres.
The message of Mystery Acres cautions us to think about where our stuff goes when we no longer want it. Before buying something you will only use one time, consider what is going to happen to it afterwards. Instead of tossing an item into the trash, ponder if there might be another use for it. Everything goes somewhere, stuff doesn’t just disappear. Rubbish can have value, but not when it’s sitting in a landfill.
Ancient Mystery’s Voice
“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” (see Psalm 118: 22; Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; and 1 Peter 2:7)
The cornerstone is the most important part of a building. The shape and angles of the building depend upon the accuracy of the cornerstone. If the cornerstone isn’t perfect, the walls will be out of alignment. A good builder can adjust for imperfections in other stones, those in the foundation or the walls, but imperfections in the cornerstone will cause problems throughout the rest of the building.
Considering the perfection needed in the cornerstone, what did the writer of Psalm 118 mean when he wrote “the stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone?” This phrase was restated by Jesus and three of the Gospel writers included it. Furthermore, the phrase is referenced in the book of Acts and the first letter of Peter. The writers of the Bible didn’t have bold font, italics, or underlining; if something was important it was repeated. God, as the spiritual author of all parts of the Bible, repeated this phrase six times. Doing that is a bit like using a larger font, bold, italics, underlining, and all CAPS.
THE STONE THE BUILDERS REJECTED HAS BECOME THE CORNERSTONE.
Ok, now that we’ve established the importance of the phrase, let’s contemplate what it means. The stone is a metaphor for Jesus; He became the cornerstone. Jesus was rejected by the builders, who are the humans, i.e., us; we rejected Him, wanting to build our lives without Him. After making a mess of our lives (what the Bible calls ‘sin’), Jesus offered Himself as the way to perfection.
The psalmist who wrote Psalm 118 had a prophetic message about a stone the builders rejected becoming the cornerstone. Hundreds of years later, Jesus repeated the phrase about that stone, connecting Himself to the prophesy. Jesus, rejected and even put to death by people, became the cornerstone for those who seek to straighten out their messy lives. Like the ideal cornerstone, a life built with Jesus as the cornerstone is more aligned. Without that perfect cornerstone, the foundation and walls of one’s life will be out of alignment.
Trash or treasure? Does Ancient Mystery’s Voice speak of finding value in rubbish? A rejected stone became the most important stone, the cornerstone. People who had “trashed” their lives on their own, could get straightened out by Jesus. He came to redeem the trash, the people who rejected Him.
Ancient Mystery’s Voice in a rare utterance offered six times, declares the existence of a cornerstone that was rejected by the builders. In the ultimate “trash to treasure” example, this rejected stone became the way to redeem the trash of all people. There’s so much to ponder here. Am I trying to build my life on my own, rejecting THE stone like the builders? Is something in my life not lining up well? The perfect cornerstone can help straighten that. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. That trash of that stone can be my treasured cornerstone. That stone can also be your cornerstone.
Living in Mystery
What does it mean to live in a “treasure-from-trash” mindset, finding value in rubbish? First, it means recognizing that every physical thing must go somewhere. Either you find a use for it or a place for it, or it adds to the massive trash in a landfill. Think before you buy. Once you own something, it becomes your responsibility what happens to it when you no longer want it. Purchase responsibly, not with a throwaway mentality. Reduce the trash you create.
Second, adopt a treasure-from-trash mindset. Look at things through treasure hunting glasses. Seek value from what, at first glance, appears to be rubbish. Many types of “trash” can have new life by finding a creative use. Learn to re-use things. This approach includes using reusable items such as shopping bags instead of plastic ones. If you must purchase plastic items, please attempt to recycle them, where someone else can re-use the plastic, not put it in a landfill.
Next, recognize your value to God. No person is rubbish to the Creator, who longs to redeem all people. Every life, no matter how badly trashed, it worth the price Jesus paid through His death. Rejected by people, the “builders” who wanted to form their lives without a perfect cornerstone, Jesus longs to bring Himself into anyone’s life, no matter how badly misaligned, and shift that life into better order. Your life is of immense value to Jesus.
Related to realizing your value is learning to see value in what some consider “throwaway” people. No one is too far gone for redemption from the trash heap. Criminals, drug addicts, and child abusers who have trashed their own lives and damaged many others are worth redeeming. There is treasure in every life, no matter how deeply buried in a rubbish heap.
As an old mom to young parents, realize your attitudes about stuff will pass on to your children, just like my parents’ treasure-from-trash became my view. Learn to see all stuff as having to go somewhere, letting this awareness impact your decisions before buying more things. If you buy something and no longer want it, recognize it’s headed for a landfill unless you can redeem it somehow. Live responsibly with the stuff you purchase and use; the landfills are filling up way too fast. You can do your part to slow down that useless pattern and, in turn, teach your children to follow your example.
Adopt a “redeem the trash” attitude. Pause and ponder before you buy; recognize the responsibility you assume when purchasing stuff. Think before you send something to the landfill; can it be re-used, re-purposed or recycled? Recognize the incredible value of each human life, yours and those of each person. Contemplate the stone rejected by the builders and how that stone can be the perfect cornerstone; bringing alignment into even the most crooked life. Look at yourself, stuff, and the people around you with a “treasure-from-trash” mindset, finding value in rubbish.
Connecting with Mystery
Dear Lord of All Mystery, forgive the cavalier way I buy and use the stuff of modern life. Help me to purchase with greater wisdom and discard with more care about the consequences. Impress upon me the value You place on me and on the life of each person. Thank You for being the perfect cornerstone; bring my life into alignment with You. Amen.
Notes from Dr. Mac
If you want to do your own investigation of any of the scriptures I use, I suggest you go to Bible Gateway. This free online version of the Bible allows a search of words or phrases in various translations. I encourage you to read the verses about the rejected stone, Jesus, becoming the cornerstone.
Do you want more from my writing? I have three years of previous posts, which you can find at my ARCHIVE. My very first post, from May 8, 2022, is Turn the Page. I have topically organized some of my previous work in the My Books section. And Mystery’s Voice is on Spotify.
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