Recently my granddaughter, Adrienne, and I were going to make cheese tarts for a Buddy Bag Project event. Adrienne was in charge of rolling out the dough while I made the filling. Unfortunately, the two pieces of wax paper for the dough slipped and slid all over the island.

When it was my turn, I switched the paper to a tried and true friend. Most times those are the best kind, the ones to be relied on to get the job done.

What a trooper my baking buddy was as she chased the wax paper to roll and cut out her circles! (And this was after her Tae Kwon Do tournament where she brought home two trophies and a medal.)

Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence him. With them alone he shares the secrets of his promises.

Psalm 25:14 TLB

Pulling out the ingredients and tools to make a second round of tarts, I went to a drawer and pulled out this tattered tea towel. You see, Dear Reader, it’s not just a worn and torn rag suitable only for the trash.

When Adrienne’s mom was an infant she couldn’t tolerate preservatives in baby food. Tom and I had to begin making Mary’s food from fresh produce. That morphed into canning, which became a passion of ours.

Yes, canning can be a lot of work, but for me it enriched relationships with my parents and mother-in-law (with whom I’d had few things in common with). Daddy loved seeing the colorful jars lined up cooling on our kitchen counter or in the pantry. Mama was so proud of our endeavors she bought jars, equipment, and . . . tea towels just for canning days.

It’s not a tattered piece of cloth, it’s a well-used and trusted friend. Sounds weird, right?

That sad towel isn’t the only thing in my life that I’m loathe to part with, despite having newer, “better” versions.

Mrs. Barbara Ready gave me this Bible when our family started to church at Wyandotte (United) Methodist Church; that was over fifty years ago.

It’s battered and tattered, and my most cherished item, Dear Reader. I seriously think of it as God’s love letter to me.

Remember [fervently] the word and promise to Your servant, in which You have caused me to hope.

Psalm 119:49 AMPC

Personally, I believe the Lord takes great pleasure in redeeming, and perhaps even glorifying, the broken and tattered of this world. What our worldly eyes and minds see as trash, He looks upon as treasure.

Come to Him [then, to that] Living Stone which men tried and threw away, but which is chosen [and] precious in God’s sight.

1 Peter 2:4 AMPC

From the time of Jesus’s birth to His burial, He was surrounded by things of low estate or not His own. God took swaddling cloths and a borrowed tomb to bracket and emphasize the equity of His great love for His children. Nothing is too tattered to be beyond the life-giving touch of God.

As we enter Advent, a time of preparation to receive the Savior, Dear Reader, let us look upon those around us with gentler eyes and hearts. Let us seek ways to give God glory by lifting others up, thereby giving and receiving the greatest gift of all.

Click the image or link to enjoy one of my favorite songs of the Nativity.