The Cake Plate
My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother; for they will be a graceful ornament on your head, and chains about your neck. Proverbs 1:8-9 (nkjv)
My mother loved antiques. She loved to collect them. She loved to shop for them. Our house was filled with odds and ends of things she had purchased throughout the years. One special Mother’s Day, I knew exactly what I wanted to get her: an antique crystal cake plate.
So my journey began. I walked through antique shop after antique shop until I found the perfect one. It was just beautiful, and I knew she would love it! When she unwrapped the present, her eyes glistened with joy, and so did mine. From that day on, my mother would take the time to make something yummy, and she would break out that cake plate and put the tasty treat on top. Red velvet cake, chocolate cake, and buttermilk pound cake adorned the antique. Those treats were more to me than just something to bring a smile to my face. They saturated the home with the aroma of love, and they shouted, “You are special to me!”
My mother passed on more than cake plates and yummy treats to me. She gave me the extra special treasure of love through the powerful, life-shaping truth of God’s Word. This was her greatest legacy for me.
I miss my mother’s special treats. It has been twenty-two years since my mom’s death, but the antique crystal cake plate has not lost its purpose. The antique now sits in my kitchen. And from the moment I placed it there, I take the time to make something yummy for my children. Each time I fill the plate with a special treat for my family, I am reminded of my mother’s special love for me. Each time I place the yummy treat on the cake plate, I continue to share my mother’s legacy of love with my children, saturating our home with the aroma of love and shouting to my girls, “You are special to me!” And I pray that I am giving them more than cake plates and yummy treats. I pray that I give to them the extra special treasure of love through the powerful, life-shaping truth of God’s Word. This is my greatest legacy of love to them.
Heavenly Father, please help me to focus on building and leaving a legacy of faith in You that will build up the next generation. In Jesus’ name, amen.