Priceless
“I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works and my soul knows it very well.”–Psalm 139: 14 AMP
Working in retail off and on since 1991 has given me a front row seat to many things. The best and worst sides of people are easily drawn to the surface when their feet pass through those double (or single) doors. Sales, coupons, items incorrectly marked, uneven customer to register ratios, or even a register that just stops working in the middle of a transaction can be enough to furrow brows, elevate blood pressure levels, and to a certain degree bring out the five-year-old in even the most mild mannered individuals. In my time on the front lines I have seen more than my share of such scenarios and could share many a story, both as an employee and as a customer.
But my time in retail also gave me a bird’s eye view to another scenario; clearance racks. I’m no different than anyone else. I admittedly love to peruse the clearance racks, painstakingly scouring each shelf for a deal. Most of the time I find things I can actually use or perhaps it is something I’ve had my eye on for one of my kids. Either way I find what I’ve been looking for and more times than not leave the store with a little extra jingle in my pocket. It’s a win win all the way around.
You know what else I’ve noticed about the clearance racks? More times than not they are not loaded down with hot off the press items, new arrivals, top name brands, items that every John/Jane Q. Public are clamoring to get. Quite the opposite. Typically these racks are loaded down with items that most people can’t seem to give away. They are items that have been a part of the store’s inventory for a while and have either been discontinued or just won’t sell. In some cases these items are less than attractive with a flaw here and there; a spot, a rip, maybe even a crack or two. And the mindset is to slap a yellow, red, orange, or any other color sticker on these items to help up the attractiveness to the eye of the potential customer. In a lot of cases it works. Other times these items have a date with the trash.
I wonder how many of us put clearance stickers on people? I wonder how many of us walk around wearing our own form of clearance sticker?
The world likes to tell us what we are or what we aren’t. Too tall, too short. Anything a size 12 or above is considered plus size. Products ranging from hair color to skin cream to makeup to vitamin supplements seem to fly off the shelves. If we can’t stop the hands of time we can at the very least turn them back. Everyone looks for a custom fit in a world that is off the rack. When we can’t find it, in others and especially ourselves, we don our clearance stickers. If we are not taken as we are with our less than attractive flaws, rips, tears, and cracks, we place ourselves with the trash.
But what does the Psalmist say? “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (v.14) The Psalmist talks about how God has searched us. He knows us. He knows every nook and cranny of our hearts, our minds, our being. He knows our words, our thoughts, what we do and what we don’t do. There is nothing about us that is hidden from Him because He created us. There is no place we are or ever will be where He is not with us. (v. 1-16, paraphrase mine). What that says to me, and what I hope says to you, is that in a world that discounts us, God had made us precious. Unique. Priceless.
Even with our rips, tears, and cracks.
Working in retail off and on since 1991 has given me a front row seat to many things. The best and worst sides of people are easily drawn to the surface when their feet pass through those double (or single) doors. Sales, coupons, items incorrectly marked, uneven customer to register ratios, or even a register that just stops working in the middle of a transaction can be enough to furrow brows, elevate blood pressure levels, and to a certain degree bring out the five-year-old in even the most mild mannered individuals. In my time on the front lines I have seen more than my share of such scenarios and could share many a story, both as an employee and as a customer.
But my time in retail also gave me a bird’s eye view to another scenario; clearance racks. I’m no different than anyone else. I admittedly love to peruse the clearance racks, painstakingly scouring each shelf for a deal. Most of the time I find things I can actually use or perhaps it is something I’ve had my eye on for one of my kids. Either way I find what I’ve been looking for and more times than not leave the store with a little extra jingle in my pocket. It’s a win win all the way around.
You know what else I’ve noticed about the clearance racks? More times than not they are not loaded down with hot off the press items, new arrivals, top name brands, items that every John/Jane Q. Public are clamoring to get. Quite the opposite. Typically these racks are loaded down with items that most people can’t seem to give away. They are items that have been a part of the store’s inventory for a while and have either been discontinued or just won’t sell. In some cases these items are less than attractive with a flaw here and there; a spot, a rip, maybe even a crack or two. And the mindset is to slap a yellow, red, orange, or any other color sticker on these items to help up the attractiveness to the eye of the potential customer. In a lot of cases it works. Other times these items have a date with the trash.
I wonder how many of us put clearance stickers on people? I wonder how many of us walk around wearing our own form of clearance sticker?
The world likes to tell us what we are or what we aren’t. Too tall, too short. Anything a size 12 or above is considered plus size. Products ranging from hair color to skin cream to makeup to vitamin supplements seem to fly off the shelves. If we can’t stop the hands of time we can at the very least turn them back. Everyone looks for a custom fit in a world that is off the rack. When we can’t find it, in others and especially ourselves, we don our clearance stickers. If we are not taken as we are with our less than attractive flaws, rips, tears, and cracks, we place ourselves with the trash.
But what does the Psalmist say? “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (v.14) The Psalmist talks about how God has searched us. He knows us. He knows every nook and cranny of our hearts, our minds, our being. He knows our words, our thoughts, what we do and what we don’t do. There is nothing about us that is hidden from Him because He created us. There is no place we are or ever will be where He is not with us. (v. 1-16, paraphrase mine). What that says to me, and what I hope says to you, is that in a world that discounts us, God had made us precious. Unique. Priceless.
Even with our rips, tears, and cracks.
Devotional Time
In these moments take some time to read and reflect on Psalm 139. Thank God for His creation…YOU! Thank Him for searching you and knowing you. Thank Him for always being with you. Ask Him to reveal any area of your life where you may feel clearanced or discounted and for His help in giving these areas over to Him.
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