Chips on the Sugar bowl

When I was a young boy, so many years ago, the thing I loved to do more than anything was to stay with my granny…. It was a time of listening to stories & learning of old ways & exploring. She didn't have a TV or phone. There was no internet then, no texting or cell phone distractions, no computers, & nobody around. But there was the creek bank, cane poles, the woods, cow paths across pastures that meandered forever, & forts to build in hay lofts. I loved it.

One day I was sitting at her old wooden, kitchen  table while granny was preparing breakfast. In front of me was an old sugar bowl & I noticed there was a chip on its' rim. I pointed out to Grandma that it was damaged. 

Her answer was wonderful. She said just because something gets a chip or scratch you don't throw it out or set it aside, because life beats it up a little. She said you patch your coat, put new soles on your boots & keep on going. Even at that young age I thought about what she said. I looked around the room. There was a patch on the screen door sown in with fishing line, chips in the enamel on the old water bucket, the quilt on the bed was made from worn out clothes, each piece had its' own story.

Well that's what started it. People ask why I like to tell stories & I say because of the chip on the sugar bowl. I started looking at things, life differently. Every chip, scratch, or dent on a piece of furniture, the wall, the door frame had a story, whether inside the house or out in the barnyard. What caused that, how long had it been there.

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Just like the dents and chips in the story above I think we also gather dents and chips as we go through the highs and lows of life. We need to embrace our flaws and learn to love and value them. They are part of our history and each tells a story - often of survival and growth.