Article September 13, 1982 Issue

Let's restore rather than reject

THELMA J. SHIPMAN

Through ignorance of their intrinsic worth, we sometimes reject or discard valuable items—an antique, a home, a car, a marriage, any number of things. Through ignorance of what man is, we may discard or reject people whose life styles differ from ours—or those whose lives have been colored with numerous coats of personal opinions, human theories, and false beliefs. In Christian Science we learn, "It is ignorance and false belief, based on a material sense of things, which hide spiritual beauty and goodness."^{Science and Health, p. 304.}

This statement of Mrs. Eddy's came clearly to me when Susie, my granddaughter, was conducting a garage sale. Her parents had scrounged around the house from attic to basement to collect things no longer needed or used. Susie was going to buy school clothes with the money she expected to make. I was invited to join in the sale by bringing things I no longer needed.

My family and I were amazed to see the junk we had collected from the recesses of our homes. As garage sales generally go, my family wanted some of my junk, and I wanted some of theirs. When I decided to buy a small wooden chest whose identity was masked under numerous layers of paint—topmost of which was bright yellow—Susie said, "Nana, I don't believe you. I can't imagine that ugly thing in your house. How could you possibly want that?"

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