A few days ago, I pulled a slightly tatty old cardigan from the back of my wardrobe. It was one of those items of clothing that had quietly slipped out of use. Alice, from what I can remember, had been urging me to get rid of it a while back but I managed to hang onto it. On a whim, I slipped my hand into a pocket.
Out came a crumpled blue Covid mask. And then — far more excitingly — two twenty-pound notes!
I confess I felt a small but genuine surge of joy. It was as though my former self had reached through time and handed me a gift. There was something wonderfully unexpected about it. I hadn’t earned it that day. I hadn’t planned for it. I simply stumbled across it.
It felt like treasure.
The old Covid mask made me smile for different reasons. It was a reminder of a very strange and difficult season — those long months when faces were half-hidden, church felt unfamiliar, and we learned new words like “lockdown” and “social distancing” and “Barnard Castle”. That little mask carried memories of anxiety, patience, neighbourliness and perseverance. It reminded me how far we have come.
And the £40? Well, that was pure grace.
It set me thinking about the unexpected blessings that are scattered through our lives — small treasures we rediscover when we least expect them.
Sometimes they are literal. Money in a back pocket. A note tucked into a book. A photograph that falls from between the pages of an old Bible. At other times they are less tangible but even more precious: a friendship rekindled, a kind word at just the right moment, an answered prayer we had almost given up on.
Life can so easily feel serious and weighty. News headlines rarely bring delight. Bills still need paying. Worries about health, family or the wider world can press in on us. And yet, woven quietly through it all, there are moments of sheer gift.
A knackered old cardigan pocket can become a parable.
Jesus often spoke about treasure — treasure hidden in a field, treasure worth selling everything to possess. But perhaps there is also treasure we already carry and simply forget. We tuck it away in the lining of our days. Gratitude. Resilience. Memories of faithfulness. A community that held together through difficult times. Then one ordinary afternoon, when we are not even looking for it, we rediscover it.
What struck me most was how disproportionate my joy was to the sum involved. Forty pounds is a blessing, certainly, but it is not life-changing wealth. And yet it lifted my spirits. It lightened my step. It made me thankful.
That is the curious power of unexpected grace — it awakens gratitude.
Perhaps the invitation for us all is twofold. First, to notice the small blessings when we stumble across them. To allow ourselves to feel delight without cynicism. To say a quiet “thank you” to God for the little surprises.
And second, perhaps to become unexpected blessings for others.
We can tuck small treasures into one another’s days: a handwritten note, a thoughtful message, an invitation for coffee, a moment of patient listening. Even dare I say it a text message…We may never fully know the difference it makes. But someone, somewhere, may one day reach into the pocket of their week and rediscover what we placed there.
A forgotten cardigan reminded me that grace often hides in ordinary places.
So perhaps over these coming days, as we go about life here in Sunbury, we might keep our pockets — and our hearts — open.
You never quite know what treasure you might find.
