Yard Sales
Given the fact that I have been working out in my totally messy and totally PACKED garage for the last three weeks to get ready for a yard sale…this topic is on my mind lately! Even though the proceeds will be given to my oldest son for his upcoming missionary trip to Kenya, I still hate having a yard sale. Ok, I admit it. I don’t like hauling out a bunch of junk, marking it with what I believe to be a STEAL of a price and then having to stand all day in the sun – or rain (even worse than the sun) to haggle over the junk’s value! Wouldn’t it just be easier if I put it all on the sidewalk with a jar and did the honor system? I mean, I’ve seen this work for farmers. You know, you drive by their farm and you see this table loaded with wonderful produce and a small sign next to a jar that says, “leave $1.00 if you are taking two juicy tomatoes, $2.00 for this enormous watermellon and $.50 if you are buying the cute, little cukes. Ok, it never has adjectives on the sign but still, the jar is there…but since I live in a fallen world and I am a bit synical about human nature and all, I’ve been spending every spare minute in the crowded garage putting little pieces of paper, attached with safety pins on shirts on which I have dutifully written $1.00, knowing full well, I will end up with $.50 for this wonderful shirt that would sell for $5.00 at the consignment shop!
Now, not to spiritualize everything – ok, I do spiritualize everything so let’s just get on with it…All of this work to make my junk look good to someone so they will pay me the proverbial “2 cents worth”…has made me start to think about how my life often goes just exactly like this. I pray that the Lord will “set me free” of some besetting sin (junk in my personal closet) and then when He starts to clear out the closet to free me…I try to dress up the sin and make it look better. I will justify why I do that thing over and over as though it suddenly has more value now that the Lord is holding it up in front of me telling me to put it out into the garage. I’ll hang it up on a hanger and try to get the wrinkles out by telling the Lord it is NECESSARY for me to have that in my life because it helps me in some way.
For example, when I was trying to convince The Lord I could still watch my favorite, weekly tv show (which curiously enough had the word IDOL in its title!) despite the fact that it had just openly glorified nude photographs and the Holy Spirit was telling me to give it up, I entered a bargaining phase with the Lord. I told the Lord I could overlook this one episode because watching that show was a family date and ALL of us looked forward to it. To which the Holy Spirit replied, “More reason to just get rid of it all together. You are watching a show that is giving your children unholy messages. Just ditch the thing.” So I did …but WOW! I wanted to mark that one way up so no one would buy it and I’d have to drag it back into my closet. I tried in every way I could think of to figure out a way to convince the Lord it didn’t need to be outsted from the closet. Instead, the Holy Spirit said, “On this one, don’t even mark it way down…put it in that trash can over there and don’t sell it at all!” sigh. He always wins. Good thing too. I’d be even more of a mess without Him!
The minute that show was out in the trashcan…I had such a flood of peace! Just like I am going to feel on Saturday when the last box of junk is delivered to the Goodwill store. See, my motto is, “Once out in the garage, it does NOT COME BACK IN!” So on the last day of my sale, I box up everything leftover and haul it right down to the Goodwill store and I say, “Good Riddance!” WOW! I LOVE that free feeling! I also love opening a closet and not getting knocked on the head by the overstuffed goodies I had in it!
This week the scripture the Lord has been hammering home to me as I saftey-pin price tags on the junk I am selling is this: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)
I think I am going to saftey pin THAT to My shirt to wear while I haggle on Friday and Saturday. I think those who come by looking for a bargain will walk away quite happy because no matter what price they say, I’ll be saying “Yes and Good Riddance!”
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Vicki Feinn was raised in a Christian home and accepted Jesus as her savior at the age of five. At the age of eleven she gave herself to the Lord to be used in any way He wanted to use her. 
