"Oh, Honey, don't throw that piece of foil away. Uncrumple it, lay it on the table and take this soapy washrag and wipe it off. We'll let it dry and we can use it again." How many times I heard that while growing up, I don't know, but my mother was the Queen of Reuse.
My mother and daddy married in 1927, just a very few years before the Great Depression. Times were hard and they learned quickly not to waste anything they had. Those learned lessons continued as long as my... mother lived.
My mother and daddy married in 1927, just a very few years before the Great Depression. Times were hard and they learned quickly not to waste anything they had. Those learned lessons continued as long as my... mother lived.
Mother would reuse a piece of foil until it was so thin you could almost see through it. She seldom bought boxed cereal at the store when I was growing up because old fashioned oatmeal from the big, round Quaker box was, as she put it, "nutritious and very good for you". And, except for an occasional bowl of Total before bedtime, my mother continued to make oatmeal from the big, round Quaker box for her breakfast until the Lord called her home.
I was reminded of this when I cleaned out my refrigerator this morning. There was a perfectly good piece of foil covering the remainder of a casserole. After I placed the remainder in a smaller container, I found myself wiping the foil with a hot, soapy rag and leaving it to dry before putting it in the drawer to be used later. And, when I poured the last bit of dry cereal into a bowl, I removed the plastic liner; wiped it down and put it in the same drawer. It worked every bit as well as wax paper that cost money at the store.
We are creatures of habit. What we learn growing up may not be applied as soon as we leave home but as we grow older, those memories will bring us back to an earlier time and perhaps we will follow in the footsteps of our parents in a lot of ways.
That's why it is so important to instill the love of God in our children. It's not only important to tell them of God's love but to show them God's love in our every day lives.
"Teach a child to choose the right path, and when he is older, he will remain upon it." Proverbs 22:6 (TLB)
I was reminded of this when I cleaned out my refrigerator this morning. There was a perfectly good piece of foil covering the remainder of a casserole. After I placed the remainder in a smaller container, I found myself wiping the foil with a hot, soapy rag and leaving it to dry before putting it in the drawer to be used later. And, when I poured the last bit of dry cereal into a bowl, I removed the plastic liner; wiped it down and put it in the same drawer. It worked every bit as well as wax paper that cost money at the store.
We are creatures of habit. What we learn growing up may not be applied as soon as we leave home but as we grow older, those memories will bring us back to an earlier time and perhaps we will follow in the footsteps of our parents in a lot of ways.
That's why it is so important to instill the love of God in our children. It's not only important to tell them of God's love but to show them God's love in our every day lives.
"Teach a child to choose the right path, and when he is older, he will remain upon it." Proverbs 22:6 (TLB)
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