Wed., June 19, 2019

Psalm 19:10  – They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.

I love old things.

I have an old house. Throughout the house, we have lovely old things from my family and Hubby Rick’s family. There are a few old things that we’ve picked up along the way. Like the old manual typewriter that I bought at the neighbor’s garage sale a year back.

Some might even say that I chose an “older” hubby … but that’s for another day.

I love to take some of the older, more meaningful items we have and use them to decorate and add character to our house. This is my theory: if we’re going to have these items, why not use them?

And so, I do.

I took a little tour around just our beautiful porch and was amazed how many of these items I found. Would you like to see them? Good. I’m ready to show.

As you walk up towards our front door, you see these old wash tubs and rack. For years, my mother-in-law used them to do laundry. Yep, these were her wash tubs. They wouldn’t be very helpful for laundry today, as there are rust holes in the bottoms. But I think they still look pretty cool.

Sometimes I have had them out. Other times, I haven’t. This spring, I brought them back up from the basement and put them on the porch. They were empty for awhile until I found these pretty petunias. They really do look quite stunning in the old wash tubs. And they kind of fit into the décor of our old Victorian farmhouse.

Just below the wash tubs are these baseball shoes. They were worn by Rick’s son, Nate. Over nineteen years ago, Nate was killed in an accident. Rick has kept a few of Nate’s things, including these baseball shoes. Rick loved watching Nate play. Sometimes, they even played together. Earlier this spring, granddaughter Ellie wanted to know if these cleats were Grandpa Rick’s. It provided an opportunity to share just a little something about Uncle Nate, who she never met.

We have milk cans at various places around our property. Rick hauled milk from the farm to the manufacturing plant for 25 years. His son, Darran, has continued this family tradition and is the third generation hauling milk. When Rick’s dad began hauling milk, he had a van truck which held 88 milk cans. In those days, many people who lived in the country had a couple of cows and would sell milk the family didn’t need. Most farms today sell more milk in a day than would fit on the van truck that held 88 cans.

Some of the cans are a little rusty, like this one. Others just need a good wash and they could be put into action. We’ve kept a few of the old Vielhuber milk cans and I like to use them in various places. It just reminds me of Rick and my roots of being raised on dairy farms.

This is one of my favorite items. It was my Grandma Sower’s watering can. When I was little, this is the can she used to water her flowers. Before it was vogue to be environmentally friendly, my Grandma had a rain tub where she caught rain and used to water her flowers and garden. I remember dipping this can into the rain tub, letting it fill up with water and then watering her plants and flowers.

Today, I use it to water my plants and flowers. It might be close to retirement age. But I’m not letting it collect social security just yet.

There are many other things, inside and outside our house, which we could tell you a few stories about. Rather than bore you with my stories, walk about your house. Your property. Where you live. What old things do you find? If the item could talk what story might it share?

None of these items are worth any amount of money. But they are precious to Rick and me because they are part of our family history. They tell a story. They bring back memories. They are part of our heritage.

If some of those things are collecting dust in the basement, bring them up to the light of day. Let someone ask about them and share a story or memory that item invokes for you. Pass down the stories and the history. Let the items help be a part of the story.

Our Bibles are basically stories told and retold of God’s redeeming work. We’re precious to God. We’re special and unique. Just like the antiques I have on my porch. Just in case you aren’t feeling too special today, please know that God loves you, cares for you and knows all the details about your special and unique story. No matter how old (or young) you are.

For the stories precious items in my life invoke, I am grateful.

Lord God – Thank you for the old stories and history that are a part of who we are. May we see that our story is just as much of a part of Your story as David, Mary and Paul. May we treasure those things that help us remember our story. Amen.

Blessings –

Dianne

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