My sister is a fix-it girl. At night, her bed lays empty while she undoes the dirt of day at a local coffee shop. She dusts the fixtures and sweeps away crumbs. She sanitizes tables and chairs and counter tops and remembers who sat where in the daylight when she grabbed a bottle of kombucha, rubbing her eyes. In the dark, she clears fingerprints from windows and doors, scrubs toilets, shines sinks. Sometimes she even fixes the plumbing using her best tool…woman’s intuition. She polishes the floor, blank slate for the morning. Back home by day, she mothers and sleeps mostly, no time to fix the broken things or go after what life has sucked away, except this once…. I hope you’ll enjoy this short but (bitter)sweet account written by my sister, the resilient Mandy Cross.
This is a necklace of mine. I’ve always had faith and hope. But awhile back, love fell down the drain.
Life was so busy and demanding that I didn’t make time to look for it. But, always in the back of my mind this awareness lingered of the possibility that it could still be there, waiting to be salvaged. Or, was it flushed away forever?
Finally, not too long ago, I got the gumption to give it a go. I faced the foul sewer stink and messy puddle as I muscled through corrosion in the connections. Lo and behold, the love charm plopped out as I poured putrid water from the pipe.
It doesn’t look the same… It has lost its shine and one of the cheap, glass jewels. But it is intact.
Due to the distress, the metal has a deeper, textured patina. Truthfully, I like it better that way.
I think I’ll wear it on a string.
{What’s your story of love lost? How does the metaphor of Mandy’s love gone down the drain affect your own outlook on past hurts?}
And now for this week’s giveaway from Amanda Lynne Designs!
My blogger friend Amanda Lynne has an amazing Take Heart story of growing up in a difficult family situation, being placed into foster care and eventually being taken in by loving parents who prepared her to establish her own beautiful family. Amanda now owns a shop where she sells her unique pieces of stamped jewelry that communicate faith, hope and love. In honor of our series and this particular post about my sister’s necklace, she has generously offered to give a special “Take Heart” custom necklace to one Message in a Mason Jar reader! Simply visit Amanda Lynne Designs on Etsy and comment below about your favorite jewelry piece for your chance to win. For extra entries (include a separate comment here for each entry): subscribe to Message in a Mason Jar via email or RSS feed, like Message in a Mason Jar on Facebook, share this post on Twitter, share on Facebook, and/or share on Pinterest. This giveaway ends at midnight EST on Sunday, February 16.
Thanks for visiting Message in a Mason Jar where we’re finding the loveliest things in the most ordinary containers. To get posts delivered to your email box or blog reader, enter your email address on the homepage sidebar or enter http://messageinamasonjar.com/feed/ in your reader.
This week in our Take Heart series we’re talking about romance. We’d love to have you link up with us and share how God has helped you take heart in the midst of your own struggles in singleness, dating, married life or abandonment. The link-up is open through Friday night. And don’t forget to comment below for your chance to win our giveaway from Amanda Lynne Designs today!
I have seen those and thought of doing one with the kids names on them–but then I saw her “I DO” and immediately thought “That’s perfect!” How often we get so wrapped up in the kids and forget to foster our marriage! What a great reminder of what started the family. 🙂
Good point: “How often we get so wrapped up in the kids and forget to foster our marriage!”
I like you on Facebook (well, I like you in real life too, but I have “liked” the blog on FB)
I subscribe to your RSS feed via Google Reader (And I feel like I’m leaving a long chain of comments here!)
Go for it. Way to get us started, Tina!!!
Tell Mandy I think it is such a beautifully written visual.
Thank you, Tristi. I will! She posted this on Facebook several months ago (she doesn’t blog) and I’ve been wanting to post it here ever since.
Thank you, Tristi. 🙂
Tell your sister her post rocks! I was loving the metaphor and then realized it had its basis in reality. Sooo good. I already like you on FB!
Basis in reality, yes…all too “real”. The behind the scenes story is certainly not the stuff we dreamed of when we were little girls. But even though life looks different for her after the hardship, “the textured patina,” it is beautiful! Thanks for your sweet words. I’ll pass them on.
Tweeted the post.
Share the post on FB.
Amanda has some beautiful things! I love all her stamped jewelry.{ I have a very similar necklace with three, graduated discs, with each of my kids’ names stamped on it.} I also think the heart infinity scarf is the bees knees 😉
I love the options for custom items, too. Plus she is just the sweetest thing.
Gosh, are you sure, you want me to put a separate comment for each entry?! Pinned the post.
All right. Last one, I promise! I just signed up a couple of days ago to subscribe via email.
Darcy, this is beautiful and poignant. Thanks to you and your sister for sharing. Love your voices! 🙂