Thrift Store Spiritual Life: Discovering That Perfect Thing
By Sarah Chesebrough
I LOVE shopping second hand. I mean, I LOVE IT. It’s a great way to be more ‘green’ and a great way to stretch the family budget. But what really gets me is the serendipity of coming across that perfect thing. You know the one. You didn’t even know you needed it, yet you can’t fathom living without it? Yeah, that perfect thing.
Thrifting requires a certain sense of adventure, of being open to the moment, and a willingness to give up control a little so that perfect thing can find you. As we seek to know ourselves better, as we seek to know our God better, it serves us to develop a spirit of open-minded curiosity. I believe the Holy Spirit moves strongly in that space. He can help guide you, help you discover those ways in which you were created to pray, created to worship; your perfect thing.
Having grown up in the church, I am used to attending church on a Sunday morning, listening to the pastors’ message and lifting my voice with others in song or prayer at the appropriate times. I have been blessed repeatedly over the years by the meaningful messages, moving music, fellowship, and the opportunity to serve alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ.
If asked, I don’t know that I would have characterized my spiritual life as anything less than fulfilling. Except maybe, there was something not quite connecting. Some sense of …something else out there. Some sense that I hadn’t yet found that perfect thing.
God has been working on my heart, challenging me to move beyond my comfort zone, to release control and to let go of my assumptions and expectations. He’s been working to expand my mind and my concept of worship. He’s been challenging me to get to know myself, and to learn to love myself. In this context, it has been a revelation to learn about, and try on for size, spiritual practices from a variety of traditions. It felt a bit like wandering through a new thrift store and looking for that perfect thing. You know the one-yep- the one you didn’t even know you needed.
For me, it was discovering new ways to pray, new ways to connect with God, and new ways to understand who I am as part of God’s beautiful creation. And do you know the real miracle is, what the revelation is? The more I let myself wander, the more perfect things I am able to recognize. I believe we can get to a place where we recognize that all things are perfect.
No matter how we come to God in prayer, no matter how we choose to worship Christ, the Holy Spirit is present. He is guiding us ever closer into relationship with God. However, If we are blessed enough to find those ways that speak fully to our souls, it is a perfect thing indeed. This week, I close with a challenge for us all to reflect on what the idea of having a thrift store spiritual life might mean for you.
...In Response 