The "Fixer-upper"
I come from a long line of “fixer-uppers”, those who would make
do or do without, fix it up, not throw it out.
When I was a little girl I believed there was nothing my Granddad Blaine
couldn’t fix. When I got older I
discovered it was pretty much true. It
might not have always looked pretty (he was very resourceful with his materials on
hand) but it did the job. A product of
the depression, he was far from belonging to our throw-away society.
My parents were also very good at taking an unwanted object
and making it into something great. My
favorite was a beautiful red wagon complete with butterfly stickers. My friends and I would push each other around
in that wagon for hours and decorate it up and have parades down the sidewalk. It was years later that I discovered that
they had bought it very used and completely redid it. Such love on a budget.
My Grandma Peggy and Granddad took more than one person into
their home to stay and befriended neighbors with meals and errand running and
helped many with fix it projects. My
Grandpa Ray ( who had his own business of fixing for many years) was always
ready to share the little they had with someone else. I remember one Christmas when a family member
was telling of someone needing a washing machine. My Grandpa thought a minute and said, “Marge,
maybe we should give them ours.” My
Grandma sat in silence for a moment and then replied, “But how would we wash
our clothes!”.
Although they knew how to fix things, I was blessed that those around
me valued people more. It’s easy to throw out something that is
broken rather than fix it but the reward, financial and otherwise, is greater
when we don’t. How much greater is it
with people. Many in our society tends
to use things and people and are eager to throw both out when they are
done.
Just because something or someone is broken doesn't mean we throw them out.
I want to see people as Jesus does, see them for who they
can be while loving them as they are. I want to value things less and people more. I want to fix up the things I have and point
societies "throw-aways" to the One who redeems and restores.
I want the hurting and broken to know they have value and worth. I want those who have made mistakes to know
that no mistake is so great that they are unworthy of God’s love. I want them to know there is a hope and a
future.
I want them to know the greatest “Fixer-upper” of all…
(All photos in this post courtesy of http://www.123rf.com/ )
7 comments
Oh Mindy, this was such a blessing to read - thank you, friend for sharing such precious words. It is wonderful to hear from you and I pray you are doing well. Enjoy you Wednesday :) Hugs!
ReplyDeleteHI MINDY!!! I have missed you! So happy to see your blog again.
ReplyDeleteI have to admire people who are handy. My husband and I are fairly worthless at that kind of thing. We went on a construction mission trip, that was a hoot! But your Grandparents sound like such grounded, loving people. Right down to wanting to give away the washing machine. (I would have responded just like your Grandma!) What a legacy of using their gifts, and generosity.
We all do have worth too, no matter how broken we are. You are trying to tell people about their beauty through blogging, and I love that. Keep writing and inspiring. Your Grandparents are proud of you!
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Mindy this was so encouraging and insightful to read. Love your heart
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to see you writing again, Mindy! I have come to rely on your insights and inspiration. You are so right, we spend far too much time on materialism when the most valuable thing we have is each other.
ReplyDeleteTake good care.
oxox
Great post, Mindy! I want to be like you - valuing things less and people more!
ReplyDelete"Just because something or someone is broken doesn't mean we throw them out." - so good. I think a lot of people want to be this way, but when hurt enters the picture, everything gets cloudy. Thanks for this post. I want to be a keeper :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for poosting this
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