Touching the Past

The mother of a friend passed away and now the house has to be cleaned out. This is no ordinary project because the mother was a writer, poet and collector. Today the friend asked us to come and look through some of the remaining books to see if there were some things that we wanted for ourselves.

I found some books on writing and nice older copy of Roget's Thesaurus and I picked up some older paperback copies of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy as well as a nice copy of The Hobbit. I opened The Hobbit and noticed an old letter postmarked Oxford, England. I thought the envelope would make a great souvenir and almost just tucked it back into the book. Then, I realized that I should pull the letter out just in case it was something important.

I scanned the note and almost passed out! It was a note signed by J.R.R. Tolkien! The ecstasy and the agony! I knew I had to hand it over but I was soooooo reluctant .... I held onto it for a minute and then showed the rightful owner the treasure that she had. She thanked me for the note, kept it (and the copy of The Hobbit) and I left with my other books and trinkets.

I am still trying to understand why this little brush with history was so moving to me ... I guess because I really admire Tolkien's work and have a lot of respect for his gift as a writer. I was connected to him just for a minute ... it was sweet.

The Age of Plastic

We live in the age of plastic. Not as in credit card plastic, not as in an eon of world history, but in that nearly everything I just put into the dishwasher is made of plastic.

Of course at this stage, with little ones around slam-dunking dinner plates into the kitchen sink, plastic keeps us from replacing everything every other day.

In retrospect the age of plastic will probably be short-lived (though each day is an eternity). We’ll soon move into the age of mixed plastic and ceramic. And who knows, someday we may be able to set the table entirely with china and stemware.

The age of plastic has its own joys: first steps, feeding oneself (not a pretty sight!), first words, and enthusiastic discoveries of life and the world.

Maybe by the age of ceramic some of this joy and wonder will be gone, but I suspect that new discoveries will be part of every age.

So, for now, we enjoy what we have – serving guests with plastic tumblers, loading our vintage plastic-ware into the dishwasher and enjoying the little lives that make it all possible (should I say necessary?).

I love you kids.

Treasure Chests

Routinely we think of pirates has having treasure chests. Jewels and gold buried and later to be found with the aid of a map marked with an “X” -- I think pirates were not well educated.

Last evening I was watching “Little Women” with my wife and daughter. You may know this great traditional story but I knew almost nothing about it. Anyway, there is a sad time in the story (not to give anything away) and one of the daughters discovers the “treasure chest” of her younger sister. In the chest are articles and stories made up by the girls and preserved by the one sister.

It struck me that though I am not a pirate I have five “treasure chests”. My wife and my four children into whom I have the opportunity and responsibility to "store treasure": People who understand and can possess the riches of a relationship with Christ. People who understand and possess the riches of their family and heritage. People who can understand and possess the riches of their siblings.

These are my treasure chests. I must deposit the treasures. I must cultivate my relationship with them so that they will respect me and love me ... so that they will allow me to share gems and jewels with them and they will treasure it enough to keep it with them forever.

Are my children open to me “depositing gems” into their lives? Have I so injured them (physically or emotionally) that they cannot receive what I desire to give them? Have I caused them to be closed forever to what I know I should do? Will they have any treasures to pass on to their own children? Will they simply be empty chests, devoid of family, heritage, memories and godliness? Worse, will they be filled with the rust of bitterness, hatred and resentment caused by my not doing the things that I must do? What resources am I giving to them?

And the treasure chest of my wife -- I must not overlook the treasures that I impart to her. Do I communicate love and worth to her? Does she hear only criticism? See only unapproving looks? Do I say things that will encourage her? Build her up? Things that impart treasure to her? What "riches" do I impart to her that she can share with others?

Time will tell about the contents of these chests -- the things other people see in their lives, the things that they can share with others. No pirates here ...