If I’ve learned anything, it is this: even a fragmented life is worth more than others realize. We should live our lives as if we are valuable. We are! Even if you feel like a leftover.Let me share with you this thought about Fragments and Leftovers.
Several years ago, I engaged in a coin auction. 
Nothing valuable or special. They were leftovers that would not be accepted by the banks. Why? They were foreign leftovers and worth nothing to the entity that received them as payment. They may say $1, but since the value differences between countries change daily, it may only be worth 2 cents of American value.
Not even the value of its metal contents can equal the face value of the coin unless it’s a precious metal we hoard. You know. Silver. Gold. Things like that.Think about it. If the coin is not a precious metal, then what is it truly made from?
Notice! I just heard a report that it takes 2.6 cents to make and distribute each of our US pennies, now made from Zinc and not Copper! Hoard them! The Zinc market may turn any time!!! [Source]
Also, these coin’s shapes and sizes are very unique and do not fit most counting and sorting machines used by banks. Some coins were too thick, too large or small, or had edges and corners that indicated they were from another country. Sounds like Goldilocks!
Rather than see them melted down and destroyed, I took a chance in the auction and walked away with a few pounds of fragments and leftovers. Maybe there’s a little bit of value. However, I may never know. For the time being, I simply sort them out, one by one, and let my mind run down a pathway of their possible history and wonder…
What brought them to this point?
Someone traveling ended up with some leftover coins
and they made it into our financial system.
Fragments. Leftovers. Maybe even valueless.
Why buy them?
I’ve enjoyed collecting coins since I was 5 or 6 years old. Do you remember those penny books? Mine began in 1909 (if I remember correctly), and I was challenged to find every missing coin. It was difficult, but since we were only talking 50 years, those pennies always had a possibility of showing up… Today, that same book that began in 1909 now ranges over 100 years, and you get them by a subset of the range. I think it takes 3 books to cover the same period. I’m not sure I still have the books as I transferred the pennies into a better collection system, but I assure you those pennies are not fragments or leftovers in my world.Over the years, I see people tossing pennies, not worth hanging around in their pockets… Fragments of a dollar. Was it not Ben Franklin who said, “A penny saved is a penny earned” and “Watch the pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves.”
My dry cleaner has a little basket on the counter with coins that folks leave behind. If you are short a few pennies, then you are welcome to take what you need to complete the transaction. She is such a sweetheart! She allows me to mine through the coins. I will swap out anything I find with a replacement coin. I’ve found some collectibles that are worth hanging on to, even though they are fragments and someone else’s leftovers. Though it may be worth nothing more than its face value, it’s over 100 years old and is Nobody’s Fragment or Leftover as long as I’m around! Even this 1913 Lincoln Penny is so worn you can barely read the inscription.
When camping out in about 1968 or so (I know it was at least this year because my dad had a 1968 Dodge pickup that was there with us), I found another coin that really captured my attention.
We were at the Stephen F. Austin State Park. I remember it well for many reasons of then and the future.
The coin was dated 1910, smaller than the US dime, silver looking, and with foreign writing.
It’s uniqueness, and how I found it, makes it a special memory for me and I still have it today!
Not a fragment. Nor leftover. Not to me!
Even though someone else thought it nothing more than a throw-away…
Here’s my thought today.
After one of his teaching sessions, Jesus took a few loaves and fish and multiplied enough to feed a large crowd. Afterward, even the fragments and leftovers are worthy of His attention.
And Jesus took the loaves,
and when He had given thanks
He distributed them to the disciples,
and the disciples to those sitting down;
and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.
So when they were filled, He said to His disciples,
“Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.”
Therefore they gathered them up,
and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves
which were left over by those who had eaten.
(John 6:11-13 NKJV)
Gather up the fragments of uneaten food. The leftovers that no one wants. Gather them so that nothing is lost. Total them up and you will find a volume of value.
Here’s a personal view of the world I live in.
I watch people rush to discard the fragments and leftovers of their lives. They work hard to promote their minimalist attitude: memories, friends, family, school chums, furniture, autos, old-time collectibles… they all go to the rubbish bin to be tossed out. Too often they do not even make it to the resale shops that dot the landscape of every state in the union! (I’ve even been to some in other countries…)
Even space planners and consolidators teach us to record a memory (photo, audio) and get rid of anything we do not touch for a year. Their commonly spoken mantra?
“There is nothing worth your energy
to hang onto the fragment that takes up space.”
On the other hand, we end up with a pure abundance of “stuff” and struggle with having enough space to store them all. We hoard them into every nook, cranny, and all the pathways of life, eventually preventing other fragments from being stored. We stockpile the valuables and hope they remain so, while at the same time, not knowing what to do with the next potential valuable fragment that comes along, we eventually move things into rented storehouses.
Where, when, or how do you stop adding value to those fragments and leftovers in your life? Is human life valuable? Friendship? Family? Truth?
When we devalue something, we toss it aside. Much like the pennies and foreign coins I've watched people toss from their pockets. #Thimk #Perception #Algorithm #Fragments #Leftovers Click To TweetHas human life become so valueless that we toss it aside? Who speaks for the one being tossed aside? When you toss your family to the side, even if they are full of problems to deal with, they still have deep value because they are yours! You will be judged on how you connect your present world to that heritage, DNA and culture that identifies you! Your friends may come and go, but treasure those that insist on hanging around… They are worth it.
One last thought.
I do not believe God devalues anyone as long as there is hope of restoration and recovery. Whether they are tossed aside before birth or they have committed a heinous crime that locks them away for life, each has value, though each may be a fragment or leftover.
Many of us have felt the pain of being tossed aside by those we cherish. No longer do they think we are worth it. But there’s a thought flowing from scripture that marks how I feel about everyone. I want you to know you are not a fragment, and you are not a leftover.
“Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?
And not one of them is forgotten before God.
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Do not fear therefore;
you are of more value than many sparrows….”
(Luke 12:6-7 NKJV)
Even in your fragmented position of life, you are worth more than many sparrows… Rejoice!
Thank you for reading.
Please share with others.
It helps me get my book written!