Lessons from an Old Lamp

It has finally happened!  Last Saturday we spent our first night in our new Sweetie Suite.  I wrote the final check to the general contractor on Thursday.  Now, only 238 more payments to the mortgage company and we will be debt free again.

From the groundbreaking the third week of August until completion the second week of November, it has been really cool to come home each day and see what the various contractors have accomplished.  Now they have all gone and I come home each day and see what all I need to get done before I can enjoy my bed.

When it was finally time to start moving in, we decided that the first item to go in should be something significant and meaningful.  After tossing around a few ideas, we decided to go with a lamp; not just any lamp, but an antique 6-way lamp that resided in my grandparents’ living room in Abilene from the time my dad was a boy.  It has been in storage in Dad’s barn since Granny died in 1990.  Earlier this year, we brought it to our house and Mrs. Sweetie went to work polishing, restoring, finding a replacement diffuser, and painting a custom designed lamp shade.

 

This old lamp is a symbol of what matters most to us. First of all, it represents family and heritage.  I don’t know how old it is, but 80-100 years is not out of the question.  Many of my childhood memories happened in the illumination of that lamp. When I think of Granny and Grandpa Lewis, I think of how blessed I am.  Perhaps one day, we will make memories with our own grandchildren in the light of that same lamp.

This lamp also represents restoration.  If you could see the “before and after” photos, you would be amazed at how much work and love went into restoring this old neglected piece to its original glory.  We want our home to be a place where the restoring power of love is the rule rather than the exception.

This lamp represents light.  When we carried it into our empty room, we brought the Bible that belonged to my precious mother-in-law and I read from Matthew 5:14-16:

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Then we prayed that every person who comes into our home would experience the light of Jesus Christ and that we would live always for His glory.  That old lamp reminds us again that our lives matter to God.

Now, if I could just figure out where to put the rest of this furniture ...