“Stuff”
Saturday I had a fun time going to the Indiana Historical Society’s version of Antique Roadshow. I had appointments with two appraisers and one conservator. All three ended up saying about the same thing that I want to share with you.
First I saw an antique furniture appraiser. I took in picture of two pieces of furniture I have and took in a writing lap desk. He told me how much they were worth, how to care for them and some background information on each. It was great to hear. For the hard to reach areas on the furniture he said to dip a toothbrush in lemon oil. I’d always wondered how to get all that dust out of there. I found out one piece of furniture is from the Civil War era. That was very cool to hear. The prices he quoted me at auction seemed low. He said several years ago they would have gotten a lot more , but because the antique market is now depressed due to fewer people wanting antiques, the price they would bring was lower. He talked about younger people not wanting “stuff” in general and not antiques. I felt a bit sad as I cherish the feel of these pieces of furniture and thinking about relatives who touched and used these pieces every day. It is sad to think that in the near future items like this might not exist.
Next I went to a man who looked at a letter I have signed by Henry Ford II. It was signed by an auto-writer so it has little value except for the sentimentality of it. He said it will be much rarer in the future to see any signatures with the lack of handwritten letters and with email, texting and tweeting. I felt a bit sad as I cherish holding papers that have my mom’s handwriting on them. It is sad to think that in the near future items like this might not exist.
My final stop was with a photograph conservator. A delightful woman. I have many old photos. Many even have the date and people pictured written on the back. She said to always write with a #3 or #4 pencil as ink bleeds through eventually. Some of my pictures are separating from their original mats or the plastic cover is rippling. The woman told me how to take care of them, which parts to preserve and told me that the Historical Society can take care of these for me at a nominal cost. She said that soon pictures will be rare because of our IPhones and online picture directories. I felt a bit sad as I love looking at and holding old photos. They look different. They smell different. It is sad to think that in the near future items like this might not exist.
Regardless of whether or not antiques, autographs and photographs exist in the near future or far future, we can rest assured that our God‘s love for each one of us is unchanging, timeless, and preserved forever. Jeremiah 33: 11 states – “"Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever.“ And there are the words from Malachi that remind us that God doesn’t change. We may. Our tastes may. What we save and collect may change. God does not. Malachi 3: 6 states: “6For I the LORD do not change.”
The old hymn “He Changes Not” reminds us of this very message, too. How wonderful that Kathleen Wheeler wrote this hymn in 1915 and it still is sung today:
Scenes of the world are shifting,
Friends are in time forgot;
But tho’ the mountains crumble,
He changes not.
Refrain
He changes not!
He changes not!
Love Him who faileth never—
He changes not.
Winter gives place to springtime,
Winds blow both cold and hot;
Only our God is stable—
He changes not.
Refrain
Daily we grieve and wonder,
Over man’s changing lot;
Only our God remaineth,
He changes not.
Refrain
How could we live each moment,
If ever we forgot
The loving God above us,
Who changeth not.
Refrain
Daily we grieve and wonder, Over man’s changing lot, Only our God remaineth, He changes not.
Refrain
How could we live each moment,
If ever we forgot
The loving God above us,
Who changeth not.
Refrain
May you rest assured that God loves you today, tomorrow and forever!
