Joy Renewed

Sometimes a repair might seem like a waste of time.

When I was given Phillippa’s bag to repair I could ask whether she just wanted a new one.

The bag is a thin nylon drawstring bag, a freebie from the Salvation Army’s Candidates Unit. I’m sure there’s a spare one floating around the corps office somewhere.

It’s a cheap promotional item, not designed for the heavy use it was being put under, but Phillippa had stuffed the bag so full that the seam had come undone. The nylon had frayed so much that making a new seam would bring the bag out of shape and it wouldn’t be long before it’d rip again.

But here’s the thing about items; sometimes the value isn’t in the money paid, but in the memory.

This was the bag Julie had given her, last year when Julie went to the design for life course which led to Julie deciding to apply for officership.

A year later, Julie was starting her journey as a first year cadet and the bag, ‘Julie’s bag’, was important.

And so, with the importance of the bag understood I did what might seem an over the top repair, a full bias binding around the bag which would allow Phillippa to cram the bag to it’s limits without putting strain on the seams.

Recognising the real value of an item, not how much it cost in monetary terms, but the memories soaked into the fibres is the true value.