Not Abandoned And Not For Sale
I can still see the image in my mind of the beautiful yellow flowers that were woven around the mangled window panes of the tattered wooden frames.
August sunsets paint a beautiful backdrop in the marshy flats of the South Carolina for a Sunday drive. It was a beautiful day in the backwoods of the Lowcountry, the sun was shining through the trees like a kaleidoscope dancing on the spanish moss adorning the limbs. I was driving down a broken narrow road with the top off the Jeep listening to the birds sing in tune with the harmony of the breeze.
I came to the end of the road and stopped at the signpost before the crossroad. Slightly, off in a distance I caught a glimpse of a white wooden house in my peripheral vision that set back off the road. There was red sign that caught my eye in the front corner of the lot that read "Not Abandoned and Not for Sale"
The chipped white wooden boards of the house were hanging on by a thread and barely connected to one another. The paint appeared to have been chiseled off in perfect sheets and littered around the perimeter of the foundation like it had been perfectly placed all around.
Drought season had just turned into flooding season over the course of several weeks of torrential down pours. A storm had blown through the area and saturated everything in it's path and left destruction from the straight line winds. The house had obviously been damaged in the storm and did not appear occupied.
The grass had grown up tall around the house and was intertwined with weeds and tiny wildflowers where planted flowers once bloomed.
The image painted a picture in my mind that there was once abundant life bursting forth along the walls and floors.
The windows had been blown into pieces and chards of shattered glass laid all around like confetti thrown on the ground. The remnant wooden frames that remained were draped with yellow blooms of promise signifying transition for hope and new life.
The door was missing from the entrance and a white cat sat on the debris of the front door mat like a proud owner to his mansion.
Pieces of the roof were missing and gaping holes allowed the sunlight to shine through like mosaic glass leaving shadows on the ground.
There were places of the interior of the house that had been exposed through to the exterior leaving every inch vulnerable to the elements like a solider without his armor.
The remaining structure had been hollowed out and appeared as though it had all been abandoned, left behind, and was waiting for the owner to return.
The red sign was barely hanging on by the cord it had been secured by and was dangling in the wind.
I could see why the owners would have been defending their property and remaining belongings.
The contents that remained seemed awkwardly out of place in their own environment as if they had been left behind;
Forsaken.
The red sign was like an alarm that had been sounded off as a warning and it was alerting everyone that the house wasn't for sale; it was already owned.
The owner of the house had claimed his property, he claimed his ownership. He was boldy claiming this is mine and you cannot have what belongs to me; unless I lay it down.
He has that power because he is the owner.
In John 10:17-18 we read “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
Friend, Jesus has claimed you.
HE has never stopped claiming you and I wonder today how long has it been since you have claimed HIM?
HE laid down HIS life for HIS love for us. No one could take it from HIM.
The House is Still Standing
The house, although battered is still standing and occupying until the day of the owners return; no matter the outside appearance. He was claiming his own, no one could take it unless he gave it away.
The owner knows the value and worth of this property to him; the things were claimed and marked because they mean something to him.
He knows the worth and value of what’s inside although it may not appear like much to the passerby.
To Him, the outside appearance is not what measures the worth of his property.
Only he can place a value and only he knows the worth. To him, it is immeasurable.
There is no price he is willing to accept, it’s not for sale.
He already purchased it all, he had already paid he price.
To him it doesn’t matter, he knows if the bones are good and the foundation is solid, the house can be rebuilt.
In the driveway sat two vehicles with unmatched paint on the hood and doors. They were both pilled full of belongings claiming their territorial right.
One of the vehicles was an SUV and the other was a four door sedan; both with the same words written in white paint on the back windshield -"Not Abandoned and Not for Sale."
Not abandoned and not for sale, the vehicles have an owner.
They too, are spoken for.
They have already been purchased and claimed, they are not abandoned.
Both vehicles are still of use to their owner although they are not being used at the moment.
To an outsider looking in, the vehicles appeared abandoned and as though the owner would not return for them. The exterior of the vehicles were worn and weathered from the sun beating down on the paint as they had sat stagnant in the harsh weather. They appeared abandoned but they were full of items from within the house that appeared to have been placed in their care for protection.
I would be willing to say the owner knows each piece of his belongings that remained at this residence.
I would be willing to say he had taken inventory of every item and knew exactly what belonged to him.
If the walls of this house could talk, I wonder if they would tell the story.
Do you think they would say they feel forgotten and abandoned?
I sat there at the stop sign peering over at the white letters written on the sign and I heard the slightest whisper;
"You have not been abandoned and you are not for sale. You have been bought and purchased with a price; the price of my blood. I have never left you I am right here with you."
Friend, you may have been in a waiting season so long that the weeds are growing up around you where you once bloomed.
You may have been wounded in battle and missing pieces of your exterior and your armor is tattered.
Maybe things have been taken and stripped away from you and left you wondering what to do.
I want you to know today that you have not been abandoned. You are not for sale.
HIS banner over you is love.
HIS blood has written over your name, Not abandoned and not for sale.
You belong to the One who created all of Heaven and earth. You belong to HIM.
You may have grown weary in the waiting from trying to be good enough for GOD, by your own works.
You may have grown weary from the ways of the world and trying to please man.
You may have grown weary from rejection and longing to feel validated.
You may have grown weary from constantly looking for someone else to make you feel needed and appreciated.
You may have grown weary and feeling abandoned.
You may have grown weary but Jesus said in Matthew 11:28
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." HE will give you rest.
You are not alone. You are an orphan no longer.
You have a father in Heaven that is longing to hear you cry out ABBA Father.
HE already knew who you were before HE ever knit you in your mothers womb.
He knew where you would be and what you would do. He claimed you anyway.
Not because of the world system for validation but because, HE loves you.
Not because you are worthy but because HE is.
HE sees you.
HE knows you.
HE loves you.
Hope in the waiting
Don't lose hope in the waiting. Your worth is not measured by your outward appearance or your circumstance. In scripture we read the story of King David. He had been chosen by GOD but was not chosen by his family. GOD instructed the prophet Samuel to anoint a son of Jesse to be King of Israel In 1 Samuel 16:1 “Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
GOD revealed later to Samuel that David would become the next King, transition was coming. David was anointed but was not told how or when he would become king; he did not know of his appointed time. He wasn't ready and GOD did not reveal the schedule of events or when it would take place. David was anointed and essentially labored in waiting for the appointment.
David, was the least of these; the one no one expected. He was also the King of Isreal in waiting.
Man didn’t see him but GOD did. GOD knew who he was, HE knew him by his heart.
God loved His heart!
David was chosen, he was anointed, he was appointed a time, and went back to tending his sheep.
He was anointed for his Kingdom assignment and then he was left alone to tend the sheep of his pasture. He was left to be prepared, until his time. He occupied his space in the field tending to his sheep.
I could not help but believe the vehicles in the driveway and the dilapidated house were occupying their space.
They are occupying until they are needed. They are occupying until their season.
They have been in waiting, occupying their space for his return.
They have a knowing they will be needed. They trust the waiting.
Friend, you have been occupying your space.
Just because you have been in a season of waiting doesn't mean you have been forgotten.
HE has been preparing you for what HE has prepared for you and could not leave you comfortable for this season.
David had been called.
He had been chosen.
He had been marked.
It was not time for his service.
He was being prepared while tending to his sheep and knew he had to keep his hand to the plow.
We get tired and want to give up before we see the promise during the process. We have to trust the process. It’s not the waiting that makes us weak it’s the fight in the waiting.
We know the promises of God.
What He has promised shall be fulfilled.
Until then, I hold fast to the truth that I have not been abandoned.
Lord, for now I’ll be like David and go back and tend to the sheep until my appointed time .
Xo,
B~The Girl In The Blue House