Buttons

When I was young I collected little things. The seemingly ordinary in miniscule form always had a spot in the Ziploc bags I carried around. Marbles, bobby pins, and loose change were my treasured companions. My mom said I called them, "shreasures".

I like to believe I came by the habit honestly. My mom saved those tiny things for me.

She taught me how special they were.

When I was old enough, my mom would let me play with her button jar. We kept it on a tall shelf and it was only out when the little kids were otherwise occupied. My mom would let me dump out the jar and sort the buttons. I would spend hours sorting by size, color, or shape wondering where each button came from. In the midst of the buttons my mom would add pennies for me to find.

I made sure every button made it back inside before I was done playing. I didn't want any to feel left out.

The prophet Joshua led the children of Israel to the bank of the Jordan river. He carried the prophetic mantle after the prophet Moses. I can't imagine what that would be like. The Lord knew, and He promised Joshua that He would "magnify" him just like He did Moses.

So the Lord parted the Jordan River like He parted the Red Sea and they crossed on dry ground. (Joshua 3)

The Lord gave them another commandment as they crossed. They were to grab a rock from the now dry river bottom.

"That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?" He said. (Joshua 4:6)

I wonder how they answered their children. I wonder what those rocks meant to them. I wonder what God it reminded them of.

Last night I looked through some of the buttons in the jar. Some are new, but I recognized most of them. There are even a few pennies still.

I washed a baby food jar and put in a few buttons and pennies to start a jar for Hank. I find myself remembering sweet things from childhood and wanting Hank to have them too.

​I handed him the jar with the lid tightly closed and he shook it, enjoying the sound it made. I hope as he grows he'll want to know their stories. I hope he'll see pennies planted there by parents who love him. I hope he’ll find God there. I hope he'll find the seemingly ordinary extraordinary. I hope he'll be happy.