No paper or plastic

When Bob and I were engaged to be married, I decided to register for stoneware and stainless rather than fine china and silver.  Some may have called that “common”; I prefer to call it practical.  Even so, for years I would store my special dishes in the corner hutch and bring them out only for special occasions; c’mon, ladies, you know how we do. 

Finally, after about 35+ years of collecting dust, I decided this was actually kinda dumb.  Why not use the good stuff on a daily basis?!  Are we not worth it? Good grief, it’s dishwasher safe anyway! (Unlike the fine china of the 70’s, I might add.)

SoooOO000ooo….not too long ago, out of the hutch and into the kitchen it came to be lovingly used along with the stainless flatware (which had long sense been replaced) and all the other “common” pieces of cookware that go into our daily living.

Interestingly, my little change in culinary attitude comes to mind when I read the Old Testament prophet Zechariah’s vision of Heaven:

“On that day even the harness bells of the horses will be inscribed with these words: HOLY TO THE LORD. And the cooking pots in the Temple of the LORD will be as sacred as the basins used beside the altar.  In fact, every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. All who come to worship will be free to use any of these pots to boil their sacrifices.”

I’m pretty good, as I think most homemakers are, at compartmentalizing at what’s for everyday use and what’s “for company”.  Sure, I probably wouldn’t give my infant granddaughter a bone china teacup, but the general point I’m making is that I am bent to do the same compartmentalizing thing with God now as well:

• Sunday (morning at least, and evening if you’re feeling particularly generous) is in the pew, and/or Sunday School or other form of volunteer within the church setting. The other six days….
• Ten percent of the gross income goes into the plate. The other 90%….
• Maybe morning or evening devotions (if the kids allow; let’s face it, even a bathroom break can be a challenge). The rest of the day….

The reality is, however, Zechariah wasn’t just talking about the “pie beyond the sky”.  I’m thinking God was pointing to right now, this part of the history of humans, that (now unfortunately antiquated) Anno Domini: In the Year of Our Lord, when the Holy Spirit has been “poured out on all flesh” and His sheep know His voice, and all that.  Now is the time when seven days a week and one hundred percent and twenty-four hours a day are in His presence.  Everything we touch is “holy to the Lord” and is to be used in His service.  Kind of changes my perspective…a bit.

I remember walking through a thrift store, (one of my favorite past times, just ask my daughters), glibly taking things off the racks not bothering to try them on, thinking I would just re-donate them if they didn’t fit, since each item only cost 25 cents.  Then I heard His voice very distinctly:

“But, Dawn, it’s MY 25 cents.”

Message received.

But the good news?  His presence includes the dirty diapers, the constant knocks on the bathroom door, the bloody noses (from the sibling), the constantly ringing phone(s) at work, the medical bill (collector), and questions about the dead bird at the end of a very, very long day at…whatever you were trying to accomplish that didn’t quite get done.

And the boredom.  Oh, God must help me, the mundane boredom.  Knowing beyond a doubt that right now, however, that this is what I am called to do—do not abdicate.  Stay the course.  Be faithful.  Take courage.  His presence is here, too.  Maybe even here more than I realize, just polishing up one of the best jewels for the crown to come.

Perhaps that crown is something we’ll be wearing as we sit down at the table when we finally get “home” for good.  Somehow, I don’t think we’ll be eating off paper plates there either.

Zechariah 14: 20,21   Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.