Something Old

My favorite uncle is getting ready to move from a three-story log cabin on top of a mountain to a ground floor condo, which means less stairs, less yard maintenance, and much less space.  He has spent his life collecting things – like old tools and antiques – and making things, like birdhouses and pretty much anything out of wood.  Downsizing for him means getting rid of much of this stuff.  I am most fortunate that he wants to give me the antique victrola with several records.  He knows that music is an important part of mine and Dave’s life, and he wants this beautiful piece of furniture to stay in the family.  My grandmother had it before she got married, so we all think that it is at least 90 years old.

I am also fortunate to have my grandmother’s dining room set.  She started out housekeeping with it back in 1923.  When my mother was a junior in high school, she refinished it.  The set includes a table, six chairs, a china cabinet, a long buffet, and a short buffet.  There have been many, many meals around this table in the 88 years it has been in the family.  The key is still in the china cabinet door, which is pretty amazing considering that there were five children in my Mom’s family, nine grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren.  It was understood that no one touched the key.  I value not only the furniture, but the stories that go with it.  I remember as a child wanting to sit at that table so badly when we were all home for a reunion – and being disappointed when I was relegated to the metal table and chairs in the kitchen with all the other grandkids.  It wasn’t that I was eating at the kids’ table – it was that I was eating at the metal table.  I remember standing very quietly in front of the china cabinet (if I made any noise, someone would come and chase me out of the room) looking at all the pretty things my grandmother housed in it, but never touching anything.

We live in a culture that frequently cheapens things simply because they are old.  We do it with music in church (that hymn is old – we want CONTEMPORARY!).  We do it with clothes (this is last year’s style – out with the old, in with the new!)  We even do it with people (just try to get a decent job if you are over 50 and showing gray hair). 

When I look at my hands, I see the signs of age.  When I look in the mirror, I see gray hair and lots of wrinkles.  Time is marching on. 

There are places in this world where age is revered.  I think I am going to make my home one of those places.  Whether it is old furniture, or old music, or old people – I want my home to a place of sanctuary. 

“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.  They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”  (Psalm 92:12-15, NIV)