Do you have crystal in your china cabinet? How about fine china? Maybe you registered for some at your wedding, or maybe you inherited your mother’s or grandmother’s? Or, perhaps you bought some at a thrift store, even? If you have some, however you acquired it…would you please go get a piece of each? I’m not kidding. I’ll wait right here…
…In the meantime, here is a photo of my crystal and my fine china. We registered for them before our wedding, and I am glad we did. We were generously gifted a full set of each. Now, we have moved a bunch of times, so my husband might not have the same feelings about these fragile treasures (that I fuss over during moves) as I do, but as for me, I adore them. My family was quite “fancy” when I was younger (at least others old me so, because it was normal to me), and we almost always ate off of fine china at holidays and big parties. All my life as a young girl, I looked forward to the day that I could have my own set of these beautiful items. I planned and dreamed until the we got engaged, and registering for them became an exciting reality. 
Do you have your crystal and china with you now? Take a good look at them. Look at the ornate and delicate beauty each one holds. Yes, they are fragile and need to be treated with care. Yes, they can break easily, so we often keep them tucked away. But is this allowing them to serve the purpose for which they were created? I think not. Look again at their constitutions. So smooth. So perfect. They gleam and shine…why, some are even decorated with silver, gold, or platinum. Yet, we hide them away as if to protect them. But are we really?
These objects that were created to spark joy, conversation, laughter, togetherness, memory-making, and more are truly special. It’s funny about special things sometimes. We see their beauty and fragility, and instead of highlighting them and using them for their intended purpose, thus allowing them to shine, we put them away. We hide their joy-giving opportunities.
Why do we do this? Because its more work to clean them? Because we are afraid to break them? Because what if the kids are too wild and one cracks? Do we do this with more than just crystal and china in our lives? GULP.
You read that last one twice, didn’t you? Yep. We have now transcended the topic of dinnerware. Well, kind of. It’s more of a parallel lesson, really. What about yourself, your husband, and your children seems like it should be untouchable, unusable, for fear of harm coming to it? Your creativity? Sensitivity? Empathy? Compassion? These, like fine crystal and china, are treasures almost too valuable to measure, yet, we stow them away where they can come to no harm, but do no good. You’re thinking on that, aren’t you? I hope so.
I want to challenge you today to unpack the beautifully fragile parts of yourself, encouraging your family to do the same. While you do that, maybe you can bring out your china and crystal for some meals at the family table, too. See what happens in both cases. Watch the faces. Watch the reverence. Feel the pride your loved ones feel because you would trust them with such treasures…both tangible and intangible. Something might break, it’s true. And the dishes will take a little longer because you will need to wash them by hand. But the hearts that connect and the people lingering just a little longer at the table is well worth it. And as always, look for the joy. It will be there. I know it will. Blessings to you this day and always.
If you this topic has touched your heart and you’d like to explore a little bit more on these ideas I made you a cute coloring and journaling page to use! If you already have your own journal and would rather write it in there, here are the prompts!
- Tell the story of your china or crystal set, if you have one. If you don’t have one, what would you like the story to be?
- Is there a fragile part of you that you’d like to bring out of storage so it can shine a bit more?
- According to Edith Wharton, “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the
mirror that reflects it.” Do you see this part of yourself as more of a candle, or a mirror?
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