Day 14
A Warrior's Heart of Hidden Treasures
Stories from the 'Back Alley'
By Shelly Thompson
(photo Shelly in the back yard of the house on 5th Street...right by the alley!)
This is an excerpt taken from the book 'Heart of a Warrior' - A Forty-day Devotional sharing a Legacy of Faith.
When I grew up, behind our 100-year-old house was an alley separating the houses between 5th Street and 4th Street. Since my grandparents lived four houses away from our house they often used the ‘back alley’ to visit. Many times, I could see my grandmother (Millie McKeever) approaching our back porch from the alley. Her hands full of homemade treats wrapped in a kitchen towel.
I often walked the back alley to visit my grandparents. Beware…here’s where the mudslinging really starts. This isn’t for the faint of grimy situations. One day as I walked the familiar path I had taken many times in my short 10-year-old life...my eye caught the tiniest minuscule speck of a deep, dark blue color just barely peeking out of the dirt. The bright sun almost making the sparkle unseen. I stooped down to see what was glistening…after several minutes of unearthing dirt and layers of mud...my small hands held a 2” cobalt blue bottle. I excitedly ran the final few steps to my grandmother’s house with my crusty, dirt covered…buried treasure I had unearthed.
My grandmother wasn’t quite as excited as I was, but she enthusiastically helped me get soap and water to bring my amazing newly discovered treasure to life! It was probably then that my heart was forever changed and I fell in love…head over heels…with collecting old discarded things. I discovered that day how much even my young heart… loved ‘junk’. That was the start of unearthing many treasures from that back alley. I still have them in the biggest ‘buried treasure’ my husband and I own, a discarded old bank building built in 1875. I went from small alley finds to bigger street finds. But, those back alley treasures have a place of distinction in our home in that old 1875 bank building. I treasure with great fondness the memories when I could go to the back alley and find something that was buried and of no value to anyone…clean it up…and make it beautiful.
My grandmother’s Warrior heart that day showed me what happens when something that looks unwanted and dirty, covered in mud, possibly even some ‘poo’ (sorry, but it’s true – I warned you this wasn’t a story for the faint of grimy hearts)…can be made beautiful with a little soap, water, and love.
That’s how it is with our hearts. Over time they can become buried in the hurts of this world, becoming covered in layers of shame, doubt, unmet expectations, cruel words, accusations, betrayal, and abuse…the layers becoming thick and heavy, almost unbearable to our hearts. These layers form a crust around our hearts and minds that, just like the years of caked dirt on my buried blue bottle treasure, are difficult to get through. But there is something even better than my grandmother’s soap and water…the word of God. God’s word can remove layers and layers and layers…of mud…years and years and years…of dirt build up.
The best part…my grandmother met me at the kitchen sink and lovingly showed me how to clean my blue bottle treasure…Jesus will meet you right where you are…even if it is the kitchen sink, with tears streaming down your face…or the back alley, buried wondering if you have any value. Yes, you do…God wants to uncover a Warrior heart in you! It’s there. You may have to read His word over and over…but those layers will start reducing to nothing…just like on my blue bottle treasure that day.
Putting this into action - Do you know you’re a treasure to God? As you read the Bible, can you feel the love and compassion of Jesus gently wash away the hurts of this world? Can you hear Him whisper that you are more than worthy of love? To Him, you Sweet Warrior, are a treasure. He was willing to die to spend an eternity with you. When you find Jesus…you will have found the best buried treasure you can ever discover.
Years later, I discovered the cobalt blue bottles I first found in the ‘back alley’ were manufactured starting in the late 1800’s. They contained Bromo-Seltzer. Effervescent granules which were to be mixed with water for relief of headache, upset stomach, indigestion, and heart burn. I don‘t know if Bromo-Seltzer could meet all of its claims advertised, but I do know…Bible-Seltzer can meet every need you have for the rest of your life.
Instruction Manual…so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word…Ephesians 5:26
Shelly Thompson
Publisher, The Notebook Café
A Warrior's Heart of Hidden Treasures
Stories from the 'Back Alley'
By Shelly Thompson
(photo Shelly in the back yard of the house on 5th Street...right by the alley!)
This is an excerpt taken from the book 'Heart of a Warrior' - A Forty-day Devotional sharing a Legacy of Faith.
When I grew up, behind our 100-year-old house was an alley separating the houses between 5th Street and 4th Street. Since my grandparents lived four houses away from our house they often used the ‘back alley’ to visit. Many times, I could see my grandmother (Millie McKeever) approaching our back porch from the alley. Her hands full of homemade treats wrapped in a kitchen towel.
I often walked the back alley to visit my grandparents. Beware…here’s where the mudslinging really starts. This isn’t for the faint of grimy situations. One day as I walked the familiar path I had taken many times in my short 10-year-old life...my eye caught the tiniest minuscule speck of a deep, dark blue color just barely peeking out of the dirt. The bright sun almost making the sparkle unseen. I stooped down to see what was glistening…after several minutes of unearthing dirt and layers of mud...my small hands held a 2” cobalt blue bottle. I excitedly ran the final few steps to my grandmother’s house with my crusty, dirt covered…buried treasure I had unearthed.
My grandmother wasn’t quite as excited as I was, but she enthusiastically helped me get soap and water to bring my amazing newly discovered treasure to life! It was probably then that my heart was forever changed and I fell in love…head over heels…with collecting old discarded things. I discovered that day how much even my young heart… loved ‘junk’. That was the start of unearthing many treasures from that back alley. I still have them in the biggest ‘buried treasure’ my husband and I own, a discarded old bank building built in 1875. I went from small alley finds to bigger street finds. But, those back alley treasures have a place of distinction in our home in that old 1875 bank building. I treasure with great fondness the memories when I could go to the back alley and find something that was buried and of no value to anyone…clean it up…and make it beautiful.
My grandmother’s Warrior heart that day showed me what happens when something that looks unwanted and dirty, covered in mud, possibly even some ‘poo’ (sorry, but it’s true – I warned you this wasn’t a story for the faint of grimy hearts)…can be made beautiful with a little soap, water, and love.
That’s how it is with our hearts. Over time they can become buried in the hurts of this world, becoming covered in layers of shame, doubt, unmet expectations, cruel words, accusations, betrayal, and abuse…the layers becoming thick and heavy, almost unbearable to our hearts. These layers form a crust around our hearts and minds that, just like the years of caked dirt on my buried blue bottle treasure, are difficult to get through. But there is something even better than my grandmother’s soap and water…the word of God. God’s word can remove layers and layers and layers…of mud…years and years and years…of dirt build up.
The best part…my grandmother met me at the kitchen sink and lovingly showed me how to clean my blue bottle treasure…Jesus will meet you right where you are…even if it is the kitchen sink, with tears streaming down your face…or the back alley, buried wondering if you have any value. Yes, you do…God wants to uncover a Warrior heart in you! It’s there. You may have to read His word over and over…but those layers will start reducing to nothing…just like on my blue bottle treasure that day.
Putting this into action - Do you know you’re a treasure to God? As you read the Bible, can you feel the love and compassion of Jesus gently wash away the hurts of this world? Can you hear Him whisper that you are more than worthy of love? To Him, you Sweet Warrior, are a treasure. He was willing to die to spend an eternity with you. When you find Jesus…you will have found the best buried treasure you can ever discover.
Years later, I discovered the cobalt blue bottles I first found in the ‘back alley’ were manufactured starting in the late 1800’s. They contained Bromo-Seltzer. Effervescent granules which were to be mixed with water for relief of headache, upset stomach, indigestion, and heart burn. I don‘t know if Bromo-Seltzer could meet all of its claims advertised, but I do know…Bible-Seltzer can meet every need you have for the rest of your life.
Instruction Manual…so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word…Ephesians 5:26
Shelly Thompson
Publisher, The Notebook Café
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About the author
Shelly Thompson, started The Notebook Cafe -- Inspired Words for the Journey, an online cafe brewing up words of inspiration and encouragement to equip others for this journey. The Cafe (and Millie McKeever's Vintage & Home Decor with 201 Coffee) is located in the quaint historic town of Walnut, Iowa. 'The Cafe' offers a place where women gather to share a time of fellowship, devotion, and a tour the circa 1875 historical bank building restored by Shelly and her husband. Shelly is the Publisher of The Notebook Cafe and author of two books. Entwined, now in it's fourth printing; and Heart of a Warrior; in it's fifth printing. Shelly has a passion for writing what God places in her heart. Taking a giant leap of faith she left the corporate world in 2015 to pursue a dream God gave her of developing a monthly inspirational faith based online reading café. Today, The Notebook Café reaches over one million people each month. She has found the road in unknown territory is not always easy, BUT GOD always finds a way to bring about what He has promised. Shelly has also developed The Notebook Cafe Annual Woman's Conference. The Notebook Cafe has hosted seven women's conferences since October 2015. In 2022, The Notebook Cafe offered it's first four day women's retreat, with a second one planned for November 2023. Shelly and her husband, Dave, spend time with their family and many weekends working on home renovation projects…that thankfully never seem to end. |