See in color....

On a recent trip to Birmingham, I found myself on a side road in a less than prevalent area, pulled up and parked at a little house off the beaten path.  It had a sign adorned in the front yard that said something like "hidden treasures inside," and mounds of vintage goodness on the front porch. 

The picker inside of me knew that I had just hit the jackpot.  The little girl inside of me was crying saying "let's just go home!!!"  I went against every womanly instinct that I had, and I went inside with my purse tucked tightly under my arm pit. 

Two men greeted me inside and immediately the smell of liquor about intoxicated me.  My "Get out of here,"  voice was quickly muffled when I saw every corner of this house had mounds of vintage linens, glassware, luggage, art work, dolls.... I was in picker heaven. I introduced myself asking, "so all this is for sale?"   

"Yes ma'am.  Is there anything you are looking for?

Before I could even answer, a woman walked into the home.  It was apparent she hadn't bathed in days.  In her hands were 4-5 crumbled up packs of cigarettes.  "Anyone want to buy a pack of cigarettes?" One of the men shuffled her quickly to the porch.  

I went deeper into the home.  Oh, vintage Pyrex, I thought to myself as I entered into a portion of the home where they had sorted out mounds of vintage kitchen odds n ends.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a back door.  The men followed me, politely taking things out of my hands and designating a "pile" for just me.  "All prices are negotiable," said one of them.  Without even asking, I walked outside.  Outside, I was met by another man.  He startled me.  He was a tall, black man outside smoking. And if I am honest, he was not the sort of man who I find myself wanting to be especially alone with.  There were tables covered by wet tarps, as it had rained earlier.  Old doors, windows, vintage Tupperware surrounded me.  Finally, it hit me...   

I was 2.5 hours from home and had no clue where I was or who these men were who surrounded me. And now, I was standing in a backyard surrounded by a chained linked fence with one way in and one way out.

But I didn't leave. In fact I dug deeper as the sun began to go down. The men took turns bringing me boxes as I filled them with vintage goodness. I dug through spider infested mounds of clothes to find a pair of sweet pink vintage gloves.... I crawled underneath this home to be shown an old door salvaged from God knows what. As it began to rain, I told the tall black man that he didn't have to stand out side with me, that I would be wrapping it up.... And he looked at me and said, "I'm not leaving you out here by yourself. You don't need to out here alone." He then shared with me a few stories and we shared a good laugh as the ground became more and more slippery as the rain picked up and we began to run around, slipping and sliding, trying to cover up all the tables that I just had to uncover to see what was hidden.

Back inside, I had accumulated quite a pile. I needed to pay up and my Visa card wasn't going to work. So I took an accompanied walk down the road, alone, to a bank teller with the tall black man, who just hours before had startled me so much.

For $300 bucks, I did not have an inch of space left in the Ridgeline as they loaded me up, tarped me and tied me down. Each of them gave me the sweetest hugs of gratitude that I had ever received as I pulled out a University Picker business card. Right before I was about to leave, one of the men came running out and handed me a large scrapbook with pages filled of sweet 1940s and 50s notecards and writings. He said, "I want to give this to you because I know that you will appreciate it." He lowered his voice, pulled me into him and said that he felt that The Lord had led me there as their family was really struggling and really, really needed the money. He then looked me straight in the eyes and said "thank you so much." I quickly got in the truck with tears in my eyes as the whole experience and his words haunted me and touched my heart. I believe him fully.

As I drove home, I could hear the voices of my family, "are you crazy??". But, I must say, I received such a blessing on my life that day as I do each time I venture out "picking."

I share this story with you all today because this day scared me. I totally abandoned my reason and cautious Spirit. I put myself consciously in a potentially dangerous situation. I just decided to trust God, let go, and I survived!!!!!

That's what I love about "pickin." "Pickin" gets you out of your comfort zone. It can introduce you to a whole new world of people, places and experiences. It requires you to take risks at times and to rely on information and sometimes help from others and strangers. To be successful, it requires the ability to see the world differently, including the possibility that that there may be a hidden treasure or opportunity to receive the Lord's blessing from the most unusual places- found not always at "society's norm." Since getting more and more into "pickin," I find myself looking and discovering beauty in every neighborhood, regardless of economical structure. I've also found myself making connections with people from all walks of life.

If I could leave some encouraging words today, it would be this... Kindness is a Spiritual gift from The Lord. It's not only important that we share the gift of kindness, but also that we open our hearts to receive this gift from "other" corners of life that we do not occupy each day. "Other" means from people and places that is not a part of our family, jobs, and church. As we all go out into this new week, I pray this blessing upon us all. Let us open our hearts to receive the gift of kindness from The Lord through our "pickin" ventures. I challenge you all.... take 1 small risk this week that scares you a bit, and enjoy the blessings you will receive from letting go and trusting God!

Have a wonderful week, and Happy Pickin'!!!!