“Even a small star shines brightly in the dark!”
For a multitude of years, sixty or more, I observed this small dark black porcelain teapot with tiny violets that rested on a shelf in my mother’s kitchen. It was certainly from another time period and had been carefully used, over and over again, but not by my mother. Mother didn’t drink tea…only coffee. So, what was that teapot doing in Mom’s kitchen? It did not look fragile, but had obviously been someone’s friend for many seasons. When my mother moved, over the years, the teapot always found a visible place in her new home.
What was it about that uninviting, black teapot that was so special? The gold embellishment below the lid had faded. It looked almost out of place sitting next to the bouquet of violets splashed onto sparkling white plates that had been imported from England. Coupled with the crystal goblets and silver place settings that Mom was using now, it looked out of place. But…there it sat…year after year…like the rhythm of time…all alone, in plain view.
My maternal Grandmother Olivia’s Teapot
In contrast, my mother’s oldest daughter, after returning from the mission field, loved delicate English floral teapots, collar boxes, portrait plates…I collected them, with teacups and saucers! They could be found in every room of the house! Many carried a memory of a person, place or time in my life.
Why had I never asked about that one solitary very old teapot
that was cherished by my mother?? Why did she only have one?
One afternoon this shy teapot became a source of conversation. Mom had purchased a new beautiful English teapot for me and amidst my profuse expression of gratefulness, I remembered the abandoned black teapot and I finally asked where it had come from.
She began by telling me how beautiful that teapot was!
My mother was raised in rural Missouri during the Depression of 1929. There were five little siblings and they all worked hard gathering eggs, raising and killing chickens to sell at market, milking cows, churning butter, picking apples to sell, canning fruits, pickles and vegetables that they had grown together to store in the cold cellar, etc. etc.…they laughed and played, as they worked.
My Mother would watch, as my grandmother Olivia never stopped moving from one task to another, as long as there was light. She had treasured memories of her petite, energetic, industrious and exhausted mother. Ollie, she was called, would pause for a few moments to fill that little homely teapot to steal a twinkling nanosecond, catching her breath, before jumping up again to grab the last semblance of light to finish the day’s activities. She was, finally, forced to quit working as the sun set and head toward the house to get dinner for everyone!
Totally unaware, at that time, of the loving commitment and diligence her mother was exerting to care for their family, the diminutive teapot had come to represent the tremendous sacrifice her parents had made to see them vigilantly live through the Depression, when people were standing in food lines because of hunger, there was no work and families were falling apart all around her.
Suddenly, that little “star” teapot began to shine brightly and she had taken on a whole new personality… indeed, she was beautiful! She carried an important piece of my grandmother in her presence! From then on, I excitedly took every opportunity to catch a glimpse of that priceless teapot, every chance I got!
One day, years later, my mother, who was in her 90’s then,
asked if I would like to have “her”!
I could hardly contain myself...!
This little unpretentious teapot is no longer alone on a shelf,
but proudly displayed in my home with her story…
A treasure that my Mother and Grandmother had cherished,
as I do now…
Never underestimate the value of a baffling mystery.
Watch for surprising generational blessings…
~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America. Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California. My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.
