Twice Owned

Written by Janet Mueller - Heartland Church of Fort Wayne

"Do you recognize this?" my sister asked me in a note accompanied by a photo of a blue blouse. I thought to myself, “No, should I?”

After pondering the photo for a while, I remembered she used to wear a blouse like this back in the 70's. But why was she sending me a picture of it? I called her to ask for an explanation, and she relayed to me this incredible story.

She had stopped at a vintage clothing store, one she had never been in before, in Des Moines. Her eyes landed upon a blouse, and she felt very drawn to it. She kept looking at it and studying it carefully. It was handmade with a hand-embroidered piece in the center. There were flaws in the seams, and the zipper was not sewn in straight. 

Suddenly, it dawned on her that she had made this very blouse herself! She wore it when she was in high school 40 years ago in our hometown about 100 miles from Des Moines. How in the world did it get in this used clothing store? 

She concluded that she had probably given boxes of clothing to Good Will when she moved into her current house 30 years ago. Someone evidently bought the blouse and just recently decided to sell it in a consignment shop that my sister just happened to walk into that particular day. She bought the blouse, of course, expensive as it was! It was her blouse, now twice owned. Once by virtue of creation. And once by virtue of paying the price. 

Have you ever lost or sold something you made only to have it returned many years later? Do you remember the feeling of joyous astonishment? These kinds of stories tug at our hearts because they speak a universal truth to us. That which is created by someone will always hold a piece of their heart. Even if it is sold or lost, it remains theirs in an abstract sense because they were the creators of it. They hold a type of ownership over it because it originated in their mind or imagination.   

So it is with our Creator. He made us, and He wants us back. He loves and likes us in spite of our flaws. We will always hold a piece of His heart. Will you place yourself there again? ​

“And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’” (Luke 15:9 NKJV.)
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