The Copper Pitchers

Once I was given a set of three tiny copper pitchers . Years before , I had played with them when I was a child , not knowing where they came from , only that they were part of my mom’s collection of things .

 After my precious auntie and uncle were killed in a car accident in 2017 , my mom gave me the pitchers and told me they came from Peru , where my aunt and uncle had served as missionaries . She told me to give them to my cousin , whom I was going to visit .

When my cousin found out I used to play with them , she insisted I keep them , so I brought them home with me to Alaska . The little pitchers were very old , badly tarnished , and dull . One day I decided to see if I could clean them up . I got out the copper cleanser powder and an old toothbrush and went to work ; it didn’t take long before the brilliant copper color showed through all the tarnish .

The little pitchers had only needed polishing to make them look clean and beautiful again . Not only did they shine , but I could almost see my own reflection with each subsequent polishing . Eventually , I contacted my cousin and sent her a picture of the now shiny copper pitchers .

It struck me how like our lives those pitchers are . We become tainted and tarnished by life’s events and the poor choices we make . We need polishing . No , our characters don’t always emerge as “ perfect ” after just one polishing . They need polishing again . . . and again , just like those little copper pitchers . The polishing process isn’t usually fun . In fact , it’s often quite painful , but the finished product is spectacular !

So , where are you in the polishing process ? How has God been polishing your character lately so that , more and more , He is able to see His reflection in your life ?

Most importantly , are we allowing the polishing process , through trials and losses , to purify our characters so that His beauty not only shines through us but also brightens the world and lives of those around us ?

Sonia Brock