Treasures from Days Gone By

I love to look at old buildings, old books, old teddy bears, antique glass and china, and many other treasures from the past.  They are like time capsules for the imagination.  It’s fascinating to ponder the stories these relics from long ago might have to tell. 

I have walked through old downtown streets and visited towns and villages from hundreds of years ago.  Who worked in those old buildings?  Did they like their jobs? Did they make a good living? Who lived inside the walls of the old houses?  Did families begin and grow there?  Were there birthday parties, Thanksgiving dinners, and Christmas celebrations?  Were there hard times to endure? How many children learned to read and write inside the tiny one-room schoolhouses?  What kind of adults did they grow up to be? 

I have a collection of antique cups and saucers and I inherited several beautiful antique pieces of crystal and china.  What great conversations took place over a cup of tea with friends?  Did loving hands make cakes or cookies for guests to share while sipping tea or coffee? How many different people were served on my husband’s grandmother’s china? What were his grandmother’s thoughts as she carefully hand-painted each piece?  What great family moments were shared around the dining room table?

 I have held on to the teddy bears from my childhood and I love to look for teddy bears whenever I visit an antique store.  My special bears calmed my fears, helped me sleep, and soaked up many tears.  How many other children were comforted by the presence of a beloved stuffed bear? 

Why do these things matter to me?  Perhaps they make me feel somehow connected to the past.  They are reminders that many people came before me who lived lives that mattered.  Many of them paved the way to a better future for those that followed.  My life is better because they were here.  Great books were written, amazing art was created, beautiful music was composed, and life changing inventions were designed and built.  We can learn a lot from the good that happened in the past.

 We can also learn a lot from mistakes that were made.  We can make wiser decisions, prevent some tragedies, change what needs to be changed, and make life better for those that follow us.

 The most important piece of history we have, and a treasure of wisdom from days gone by is the Bible.  Yes, the stories are old.  Yes, the people lived long, long ago.  But the message has meaning for us today.  The stories contain lessons we need to learn.  We don’t have to imagine what might have happened.  We don’t have to guess how things worked out.  The love of our Father is made real as God reveals himself to us through the pages of Scripture.