Speak to Me Sunday: Polishing Silver, a Mitsubishi Eclipse, and God

This is a story about polishing silver, a 23-year-old car, and God. Seemingly random topics, but if you stick with me everything will come together…

“The best way to polish silver is to use it.”

That was one of the first lessons I learned last spring when I started working at Angevine’s Fine Silver & Gifts, and as someone who was getting a crash course on silver and flatware patterns, I appreciated the simplicity of that lesson. And it was something I could share while maneuvering through the antique silver world: when a customer came in to buy silver polish but was complaining about having to polish their Christmas silver, I would say, “Well, you know what they say. The best way to polish silver is to use it.”

Simple. Helpful. Useful. True.

(Now, here is where I deviate, but trust me. It will all come together.)

Two months after starting this part-time job, we dropped off our youngest son at the University of Georgia to begin his freshman year. We had gone back and forth whether Timothy would need his car on campus, and after discussing all the pros and cons, Timothy decided to leave his beloved 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse at home with the STRICT instructions that we had to occasionally drive his car because it was not good for a 23-year-old car to sit idle.

So once a week, Joe and I fire it up (and I use those words because that car ROARS to life) and drive it to the Kroc Center. (Once we drove it to church, but we got a little self-conscious the sound of that engine coming to life was ruining everyone’s post-Mass glow.)

(Now pay attention. Here is where things begin to make sense.)

So yesterday we took off the cover and drove the 2000 Mitsubishi eclipse to the Kroc Center where, in the middle of a workout, I started thinking how so much of life is this paradox: to use what is given to us, we need to use it to keep on using it.

Whether it is our bodies, our minds, or our talents, the only way to keep them in working form so we can continue to use them, is to use them.

Simple. Helpful. Useful. True.

The same can be said of our spiritual life. There is a reason our walk with God is referred to as the “road less traveled” because it takes work, effort, and perseverance. We have to use our legs to stay on the path, our minds to be aware, our hearts to discern God’s will. But like that Christmas silver, if we stay “polished”, if we use our legs and minds and hearts, it becomes easier to do what we need to keep on journeying; and like the Mitsubishi eclipse, if we don’t hide our light under a bushel, if we use scripture and share our talents, idleness become fruitful.

At this point I am sure you are thinking: Whoa, Maria. Polishing silver, a 23-year-old car, God … you think way too much. So I will pack it up, tie the proverbial red bow, and bring it full circle.

Challenge your mind. Move your body. Share your talents. Read the bible. Drive the car.

And use the silver.