WHILE WE WAIT – FEATURED
MASHER FOR TODAY
Today is the birthday of a dear friend.
Lucy and I have known each other since 1954. I was still 8 and she was newly 9 when we traipsed off for the first time to a week of Assembly of God summer ‘kid’s camp’ held in Ketchum, Idaho. She is the one who taught me to play the ukelele one year at camp when we were teenagers – and she has always made me laugh. We went to Northwest College together – agreed it was best to have other roommates so we’d get to know other people – but became part of a foursome of life-long friends sometimes referred to as the “Four Musketeers”. Our lives took far different turns and we didn’t keep in touch as well as either one of us might have preferred – but now is not then – and I cherish the opportunity to say ‘Happy birthday on this special day!’
Lucy was just here to visit from May 6 - 9. It was during this visit I realized that other than my 3 brothers, she has known me longer than any other person I have maintained close contact with. Friendships are an amazing gift – and she has developed a special gift of being a cheerleader and encourager. Thank you, Lord, for friends. And thank you, Lucy, for being a precious friend through these many years.
The masher I am featuring today was from a gal in Montesano named Linda. The masher is special to me for 2 reasons: (1) because it was from the Shaeffer Logging Camp – and the Shaeffer family is a huge part of logging history in Montesano, and (2) it came as a gift from a friend. It has an added benefit of triggering applicable messages for my Potato Masher Parables talk.
Because it was from a friend it definitely reminds me of the treasure of friendship. As we walk through the journey of life, we share the journey with various people for various reasons – and various seasons. While we may not always stay in touch the way we’d like, our friendships help mold us. I am grateful for the many women – and a few men – along the journey who have become friends. They – and the memories of time shared and growth experienced together – are treasures.
Because this masher was used by the cook in a logging camp, it also reminds me that God has work for all of us to do. Work as an occupation, where we rub shoulders with others and get to be his light in a dark world; and work for His Kingdom that He has entrusted us to do for Him. Many times those two facets of ‘work’ merge. We are called by God to be workers. Not because he needs us – but because we need the tasks for fulfillment and growth. We need the constant awareness of being connected to the One who is the vine – and how better to feel connected, than to have the privilege of partnering with him in what he is doing in the world….
It reminds me also that a potato masher is an intentional tool – and we are called to be intentional in our Christian walk. May it be so.
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