From Trash To Treasure

By Cheri Cowell

I know I’m my mother’s daughter because I have one secret habit that comes directly from her. This is indeed a dirty little secret that my husband wishes I didn’t have. I can’t help myself, but as I drive by homes on garbage day, I survey the trash. I’ve found chairs, lamps, bookshelves, silk trees, and even a perfectly good fruit tree. My husband was horrified the first time I made him stop beside a garbage heap while I jumped out of the car to retrieve something. Over the years, he’s learned to go along with my treasure hunts and has even begun to enjoy our excursions on garbage day.  

There are “hidden treasures” around us every day, people who have been tossed out on the trash heaps of mankind, labeled useless to society. These worthless rags, unseen and forgotten by the rest of the world, are seen by God. He has called us to be His treasure seekers, looking for the lost and reclaiming them for Him. Because of your faithfulness in seeing the trash heap of another as a place of buried treasure, generations after you will come to know Jesus. 

PRAYER: Dear Savior, give me a passion for turning trash into treasure.

“So realize that the Lord your God is the true God, the faithful God who keeps covenant faithfully with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,” Deuteronomy 7:9 NET.

Today’s devotion by Cheri Cowell, a student at Asbury Theological Seminary (Orlando), writes and speaks on the deep questions of faith. Her first book Direction: Discernment for the Decisions of Your Life (Beacon Hill) is being called a biblically sound, no nonsense approach to making God-centered life choices. For comments or to inquire about her speaking schedule, visit www.DirectionAndDiscernment.com.