Lessons From a Yard Sale

The yard sale signs were staked out in the front yard and were pretty much ready to go. This was our first, and as it turned out to be, our only yard sale, ever.

For a week or so we had been selecting things and trying to put prices on them. 

As we prepared for the sale, our little daughter Paige was involved in selecting what should go.  She had a large number of toys, dolls and games that had accumulated, most of which were no  longer of interest to her. We made our selections and put things out on the table.

The first lady that came to the sale immediately saw a doll that was laying at the end of one of the tables. She picked it up and just loved it at first sight. As she came over to pay, daughter Paige started screaming and crying saying “That’s my baby doll!!  You can’t have it.”  Shaking and sobbing, she made a pretty convincing display of how cruel and thoughtless was her Daddy to let this happen!! 

The lady put the doll down gently, told us what she thought of parents that would sell their little child’s doll, expounded on parents that were cruel, thoughtless, and  voiced other descriptors that, fortunately, have since been forgotten.   She then marched off in a huff.    Mark that down as a  "No Sale"!!!

It would have been no use to explain to her that our daughter no longer played with the doll and had gladly agreed that it should go to a new home. It was too late anyway.  But the lesson was not lost, the importance of sorting and classifying.

Actually, a yard sale is excellent practice for determining what kinds of thoughts we are entertaining. Over the years I have learned that thoughts are really the only valid part of our living. We live, love, enjoy, prosper or fail or become discouraged only in our consciousness.   

As a matter of fact, in the Bible, Paul stated it very appropriately. He said, speaking of God,   “In Him we live and move and have our being.”   Obviously, he wasn’t talking about being in a material God somewhere in space, he was talking about being the "image and likeness of God", reflecting Godlike qualities, right here, right now.  

I personally have found it to be quite an adventure, going through the attic of my thoughts, okay, sometimes the basement too, looking at thoughts and values to see if they still fit my life, are still useful, are the kind of things I want to have around in my consciousness.,   My wife would prefer that I not keep so many material possessions  around, I am the type of person that hangs on way beyond the useful life of things. And so too, in my thought, I sometimes hang onto ideas, attitudes and positions outgrown,  and thoughts that are not beneficial nor even wanted,

Join me as I start sorting.   

Okay, over here is “Love” I sure want to keep that one. And there is Life, Joy and Happiness, keep them for sure.   And over in the corner, Kindness and Tenderness, I need to get those out and use them more often. 

What’s in those boxes labeled Politics and Human opinion… ahhh, they are filled with “criticism”, “judgment” and “condemnation”. I’ll put those out on the curb, those aren’t even good for a yard sale and they should just go immediately to the trash.  Look over there, Why are those things still here, "self justification, self importance, selfishness".   I thought I got rid of them long ago, they are hard to get shake loose.   “Bye, Bye. Guys”  

This mental housekeeping is something I should do, every day.   Why do I wait for my mental “Yard Sale” day to go through my thinking to see what is worth keeping.. and what needs to go?   

Next week I will definitely start examining my thoughts every day.   NO Wait.   That’s Procrastination…Tricky little fella!    He’s gotta go too.  

Once again the Bible has the perfect advice. Joshua said:   "Choose you THIS DAY whom you will serve.”    Joshua 25:15    

The world will love us for it.