THE OLD RUGGED CROSS
About an hour away from where I used to live in Coventry (England), there is a little village called Bredwardine. It is in the county of Herefordshire. A lady who attended the Anglican Church in that village died, and in her will she left some money for the Church. As well as the money she left some instructions on how to spend it: she asked that the old battered and dishevelled cross that sat on the altar be sent to a jewelers to be cleaned and restored.
So the cross was sent off to a jewelers and when it was returned, they discovered this old tarnished cross was actually made of solid silver. They also discovered that upright and the cross-piece were studded with emeralds.
The cross no longer stands on the altar; it is kept in a safe and is only brought out when a service is about to take place.
Transition: What many thought to be a worthless object was actually a very valuable and precious item!