For the uninitiated, this is a rototiller. It’s an open question whether it is a treasure or junk, especially since it doesn’t work. This odd-looking creature is for breaking up and loosening the garden soil before planting. The roots of plants can then easily penetrate the ground and grow deep into the soil.

Before I was born, my father purchased this marvel of engineering to till a gigantic garden that was (an exhausting) part of my childhood, youth, and beyond. He was an avid gardener, and my siblings and I had to pick and help our mother deal with the exuberant harvest. I still recall the bleary-eyed canning and freezing marathons and the mountains of produce he gleefully collected.

Eventually, my parents downsized, and my husband and I became the owners of this heavy, awkward beast. The size of my garden has never matched my father’s, and my children have no idea of the kindness I bestowed on them. This handy tool was still helpful even in my scaled-down version, so, in a sense, it became a family treasure at our home, too.

The ravages of time eventually took their toll, rendering it more frustrating than helpful. What we had once valued had become a piece of junk. It was time the old relic lived somewhere else.

So, we decided to see if anyone would like to accept the challenge and resurrect our old piece of junk. A snippet of the ad my husband placed reads:

Condition: Used Fair (that was the lowest category available)

Description: “Used fair” is being generous. This old workhorse has issues! …

Price: $0

Surprisingly, people (notice the plural) responded! Numerous adventurous souls vied for the opportunity to haul away this decrepit object we considered useless. To them, it was a treasure that still had value.

The thought smacked me: That’s how God sees many things, including us. We see the problems. But He looks beyond the rust, what seems like a hopeless situation, or even the baggage we carry. He looks at our hearts and sees a treasure. 1 Samuel 16:7b (NLT) says, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Undoubtedly, He has work to do in us, but He sees our value.

We didn’t have the will to try and fix the rototiller, even if parts were still available (highly unlikely). But God is like the adventurous souls excited by the challenge. The outcome of their attempts was questionable at best, but our Heavenly Father can make something beautiful from our lives or redeem a hopeless situation. You don’t have to look far in the Bible to find people who didn’t look like candidates for the jobs God eventually entrusted them with. Moses comes immediately to mind. A murderer isn’t someone whose resume would naturally rise to the top for a leadership position to guide the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt.

And unlike how my husband and I dealt with the rototiller, God doesn’t discard us when we have issues. Instead, He takes us in his arms, whispers words of love, and helps us deal with them. His desire isn’t for us to stay covered in rust and broken like that old machine, but He will help us become the treasures He sees, regardless of our age, limitations, or background.

I still have a long way to go toward our ultimate goal of downsizing, but undoubtedly, many more lessons await discovery as I part with more stuff and gain wisdom and understanding.