Musings from the Ozone

Our ladies ministries used "Vessels of Honor," for the theme of our Mother's day banquet this year, and the speaker was doing an honorable job of delivering the message.   While I sat there, listening to her read from  II Tim. 2:21-- "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work,"  my mind wandered off course for a bit.

I suppose that a mind wandering off course could be a rather interesting topic, but that isn't the theme here. (Mind-wandering during a message is rather insulting, when you come down to it.) It was just that the word, 'vessel' reminded me of a something a little unusual from my youth. It was my mother's "jelly jars." 

Now, first let me explain that I came from a home where money was 'tight,' Lest you think that I lived on poverty row, I should say that we always had food on the table, a shelter over our heads, and loads of love and fun, yet, when it came to household expenditures, my mother had to be very careful. From my childhood memories, it seemed like we had very little in the way of dishes or glasses, so what we had was guarded carefully.  In those days, and because of the low finances, we collected 'jelly' glasses to be used as daily glassware. Once the jelly was finished, the glass would never be thrown away; it would join with it's sister glasses on the shelf.  The lip of the glass had to be just so-so, or mother wouldn't use it.  We managed to collect a good set of  6-8 of those glasses, and we used them as 'everyday' glasses.  I cannot really remember any good set of glasses, but I am sure she must have kept them for company…she only used those jelly glasses for the 'kids.'  We didn't have paper cups, or a dishwasher, so the more of the jelly glasses around, the merrier. 

Years ago, we used to go to a restaurant called "Po Foks."  The joke was that it was good 'soul' food, but the connotation was that it was only poor folks who ate the down-home style of food.  Of course, that was far from true.  Many well-to-do people would be chowing down that soul- food along with the lower classes.  My reason for mentioning this place is, the restaurant used old canning jars for their glasses.  Now, that was the kind of jar my mother would never use!  They were border-line-ugly, and that rim was uncomfortable for the lip.  Nevermind that we didn't use straws like the restaurant.

As I listened to the speaker elaborate on the importance of women being a vessel chosen by God, I came home with the new thought of being a vessel that would be 'used daily' by God. 

In my china cabinet, I have several sets of crystal glasses. Years ago,  I was given a beautiful antique pitcher and glasses of  Carnival ware, which I am just too afraid to use!  We never put the pretty glasses in the dishwasher after using them; they are just too precious.  But, on closer thought, and on a practical or logical note, isn't it strange that we should prize some things that we rarely use, if ever? It is nice to have a cabinet full of pretty dishes, but actually, (and realistically) they are taking up a lot of space, and they are just for 'looks!'  I am not suggesting that you should discard your pretty glasses, of course, but think about the glasses out in the kitchen; the ones you pull out on a daily basis, they are the ones you should treasure. Why? Because they are useful.  They are the right size, the right quality and you may even use them on the table for daily use.

I wrote a blog entry once on antiques, and ancient sites that are in ruins.  We may become antiques, but whether we are useful is more important than our age. Many women are completely absorbed with their looks, and their clothes, and forget that an ugly personality can ruin their attempts at being beautiful. The narcissistic person will also be lacking in any spiritual worth. Wouldn't you rather be a good ole' jelly glass that serves a purpose in someone's life, rather than just a pretty glass sitting on some shelf, gathering dust and forgotten?