My Clay Jar Full Of Treasures

 It looks like a simple little clay jar, but this pot holds a treasure trove of special hidden memories for me.

My dear friend Jean  gave it to me as a gift, 31 years ago in 1979. Little did either of us know how vastly our lives would change over the next three decades. As she and her family moved away to California, and I took my three children back to Idaho when my marriage ended, I gave up all hope of ever seeing her again.

We lost touch over the years, but I had my jar that was full of reminders of our special times together. Originally I filled it with sugar, but at one point the lid was broken and after gluing it back together, I turned the damaged part to the back so no one else would see it, and retired it from normal kitchen service.

It held a special place of honor on the shelf, quietly reminding me of her unconditional love, care, and  vast kindness she had shown me during very difficult years. And the broken part was like me, a broken life, glued back together, never quite the same, but still full of unseen treasures, hidden from most, but those who stop to really look and learn have the opportunity to discover them.

I had tried to find her many times over the years, but discovered no clue as to her whereabouts through my searches online. Every time I passed the treasure jar, I thought of her and wondered about her well being, sometimes saying a little prayer for her.

Then a week ago I got a message on my face book page from a Jean Godfrey (formerly Helseth), asking if I was her old friend. How joyful it has been to reconnect online. I cried, she cried, we're trying to catch up, but it is going to take some time together in person, which is totally possible, because as it turns out, she now lives only a few hours away. She had been looking for me also, but my name was Rhonda Ellson back then and she was having the same problem I did in my searches.

Yes, there have been many changes over the years. Both her boys are married, have served in the Air Force and Army, and she is a grandma 4 times over.

She posted this photo of me with baby John back in 1979. She and I both  had thick manes of long dark hair back then, and now it is much paler with the platinum earned with age, sometimes camouflaged with color, but certainly earned. The bodies have changed, and the strength has waned a bit, but the sifting of time and trials has brought wisdom and left us with treasures that many  may not be able to see, but are the jewels that cannot be stolen

With great anticipation I am looking forward to new memories to store in my little jar as we set aside a little time together. As Jean so aptly put it in her email to me, "This is like opening up a really good book and you can't wait to get to the next page."

 I can't wait!





2 Corinthians 4:7  But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.