From this
to this
in a matter of seconds.
As I was washing a wine glass earlier today I was thinking of how we got it. Our son, Jamie, had bought us a nice set of wine glasses for our anniversary. And I thought of how much he has grown up over the years and how proud of him we are. I finished washing the glass, put it on the counter and picked up the second glass. Continuing to think and pray for Jamie, his wife Suzanne and their sweet daughter Opal, I finished washing the glass and went to set it next to the first glass. It tapped the first glass and started to tip...I grabbed for it, knocking the second glass to the counter (it did not break) and the first one kept falling towards the floor and then it shattered!!! And I mean shattered, the only piece not broken was the base and stem like in the picture above. I said "Shit!" and moved slowly back down the hall to grab my sandals. And the broom. And the dustpan.
I swept the floor back towards the living room where glass was in a zillion pieces. First carefully picking up the small rug and then rolling the big rug so I could take them outside to shake. Where do you shake a rug or two when there is glass shards in them? You walk way over towards the freeway where little feet and doggie paws don't wander.
Walking back to the rig I thought "Dang, that was a special set of wine glasses." And then thought "why didn't I just leave them in storage?" And then I remembered why...we brought things with us that meant something to us. Our rig is our home and we want to be surrounded by the stuff that brings us joy. We have used the wine glasses for over five years and each time we do we give a toast and say a blessing for our son and his family. It is just one way to remember them and another reminder to pray for them.
I carefully climbed back into the rig, tossing the rugs into the laundry. Need to wash them before we use them again. I continued sweeping and then got the mop out to wash the floors. Not on my agenda of things to do today, but something that became necessary.
After cleaning the floor, shedding some tears ~ it makes me sad to think our set is not complete anymore. And then I went back to washing the rest of the dishes. And then my mind went on a weird jaunt...and I never know how I get to those thoughts ;)
Thinking of the set of wine glasses not being complete anymore led me to thinking just like our family is not complete anymore...both sets of our parents are now gone, our baby Royce was only with us a few days, all of our grandparents have died and more of our aunts/uncles have passed on then are living. Each of our son's and their wives have had to say good-bye to a little one and
then the tears really started flowing...
...all over a stupid wine glass!
Finished washing the dishes and thought about the wine glass some more. And then reflected on a question that a young momma asked on Facebook the other day: Do I put my Grandma's China in storage or do we use it? And my response: "We brought dishes and glassware with us into our motor home, it is our home and we use those items and think of how they came to be with us. They need to be used and enjoyed ~ they really weren't meant to be stuck in a box somewhere."
And then I heard
"I have showered many blessings on you, things to remember your family by
enjoy those memories, be thankful for the experiences you have had and know that I
am with you always!"
And then I gave thanks for Jamie, for his love for us, his parents, his wife, his sweet daughter and the joy of all of the glasses of wine we have shared using the glasses he bought for us to enjoy.
And then I thanked God for bringing good thoughts to mind after the shattering of the wine glass...good memories of family, times we have encouraged one another and the thoughts of being with family again and making more memories together.
Does your mind wander?
Do you get all sad and stay in the sadness or do you think of the hard times
and then rejoice in the sweet times?
