Mother carefully put
down her Crown Princess Pattern silver teaspoon on the edge of her saucer and
took a meditative sip from her Royal Windsor teacup. “Did you know Alfred,” said she, “that I have
spent most of my life looking for the finer things?”
“You and I, Mother,” said Alfred
cautiously, “have always been appreciative of beauty and quality.”
“Yes, but it has begun to bother me
just a little,” said Mother. “Don’t
misunderstand me, I still love the finer things, but there is such a thing as a
sense of due proportion.”
Alfred took a minute to tamp some
Captain Black tobacco into his new Meerschaum pipe. After all, as Alfred says, “Pipe smoking is a
hobby not a habit, and a useful hobby at that; it gives one time to think
before responding in tricky situations.”
Mother
continued, “I think it all began when I was very young. Growing up in the Talliaferro family was
often difficult, and I have spent much of my life trying to live it down.”
“Now,
Mother,” said Alfred, “you know that has never been important to me.”
“Yes, but
Alfred, it has been important to some others.
Why, just the other day Mildred Hutchins looked down her very long nose
at me and said, ‘I hear you’re Italian.’
She somehow had gotten wind of cousin Angelo’s visit to our group at
Grace Whittington’s.”
“I’m
surprised it took that long to get around,” replied Alfred. “Usually juicy tidbits go down very
quickly. But I wouldn’t let it bother
you.”
“But,
Alfred,” said Mother, “Mildred Hutchins is such a gossip.”
Alfred
looked up at Mother and said, “Mildred has a mouth that could launch a thousand
slips. One of these times she will bite
off more than she can chew.”
Mother
began to laugh, “I guess it isn’t really that important. What really is important is whether or not my
preoccupation with the finer things is really a good for me. When I made Jesus my King on Christmas Eve
something very important happened. I may
have been born a Talliaferro, but now I’m a child of the King. That puts everything in a different
perspective.”
“It does, Mother, it does,” said Alfred. “For a start, love has always been more
important than things to both of us. We
have always appreciated the finer things, but we have appreciated love more.”
“That is
true, Alfred, thank you, and I’ve always counted on your love,” said Mother.
“That makes me feel a little better, but still . . .”
“Further,
Mother,” said Alfred, “There is nothing wrong with the appreciation of quality
and beauty. There is a verse in Psalms
that says, “Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”[i] Father Goodfellow says that refers to the
fine garments of the priests in the Old Testament. Our son Jeffrey gave me an interesting book the
other day. Let me get it.”
Alfred bustled off to his study and
came back with a book in his hand. “Listen to this Mother, ‘The celebrant of
the sacrament of joy will appear in a beautiful chasuble, because he is vested
in the glory of the Kingdom, because even in the form of man God appears in
glory.’”[ii]
“Oh,
Alfred,” said Mother, “That’s wonderful; and now that I have my King I have
discovered something else; a sense of awe.
I am in awe that I am loved, and that really makes me want to worship
Him in the beauty of holiness.”
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