If you won the lottery tomorrow, would you be rich?
It all depends.
The closest I've come to real wealth came years ago at a garage sale.
Yes, a garage sale. A very unusual garage sale.
The sale date was included in a feature article about the late "Letitia Brimley." The famously reclusive heiress had lived in a city not far from us and now her estate was to be liquidated.
She lived alone for years and died with no heirs. Her high-value art and belongings were to be auctioned by a New York gallery. The rest would be sold at a garage sale. At her mansion. Open to the public.
A friend known for her spirit of fun called and said, "This could be a hoot! We're 'the public,' and there's room in my van. Wanna join me?"
Well, did I ever!
"Downton Abbey," here we come
We joined a long line of cars leaving the freeway and snaked our way through a stone-pillared entrance to "Brimley Acres."
Eventually security people flagged us to a stop. They checked driver's licenses, then handed us printed I.D. badges and catalogs and beckoned us to park along the driveway.
As it turned out we never got inside the mansion. Muscled security guards and roving hostesses made sure of that.
Excess on display
For the next couple of hours we tried not to gawk. Boxes and piles of stuff covered long wrap-around verandas and tables set up on the lawn. Plainly, the "priceless antiques, etc." listed in the catalog had been removed to the New York gallery for auction.
Not to worry. A few of the catalog entries reveal why this would be no ordinary garage sale:
- "Everyday China, (porcelain) service for 12: 35 complete sets" (A hostess explained Mrs. Brimley found it boring to eat her meals on the same china day after day.)
- "Flatware, service for 12: Sterling silver, silver, or gold; 35 sets"
We strolled through the permitted area, stopping now and then to pick up and examine items.
Rounding another corner we found:
- Cardboard boxes, each one holding a matching set of crystal goblets and wine glasses, all types and sizes
- Wooden crates loaded with etched crystal wine decanters and pitchers and serving dishes
- Large boxes crammed with silver gravy boats, platters, trays and sugar-and-creamer sets, many marked "Sterling"
- Cartons filled with exquisitely embroidered Irish linen tablecloths, runners, place mats and napkins
- Flat boxes containing stacks of wrapped-in-tissue new white kid gloves in every length
- Several lidded boxes from Paris designer shops, with layers of tissue separating never-worn silk lingerie and hosiery, with sachets
- A number of matching sets of silver-backed combs, hairbrushes and mirrors, many monogrammed with a "B"
So rich and yet ...
Along the fence we found a table covered with souvenir programs from Paris and Broadway shows and operas, as well as dated leather-bound photo albums.
What appeared to be the most recent album showed Letitia Brimley, thin and frail, with straggles of white hair. She sat alone at the head of a very long, fully dressed dining table.
Other photos showed the table set for five. Her guests turned out to be four small dogs, all wearing embroidered bibs. Two sat on dining chairs on each side of her.
The naked loneliness on that little woman's face leaped out and tore my heart.
I came home with new insight into the emptiness of riches
For days I pondered, was it sinful to be filthy rich?
I spent a lot of time in the Bible and found my bearings again with verses like these.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.1 Timothy 6:10 NIV
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it.1 Timothy 6:6-7 NIV
Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it. Proverbs 15:16 ESV
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.Matthew 6:21 ESV
And my God will supply every need of yours according to the riches in glory in Christ Jesus.Philippians 4:19-20 ESV
Lessons gleaned from that garage sale day
It's the love of money that's a problem, not money itself.
Keep the right perspective. The Giver comes first, not the gifts.
If God blesses us with money we can rejoice. But if we make money our treasure, we will live and die poor.
As usual, it's all about what's in our hearts.
Still learning, always,
Lenore
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