The Pretty Plate Blessing

One day, many years ago, when a youth, I sat with my family at my aunt’s dinner table. She had set the table with plates from her china cabinet. They were all white with a raised design of fruits. These were the whitest plates I had ever seen. As the food was passed around and we all filled our plates, I couldn’t help but notice how beautifully the food looked on these totally opaque, glossy white plates!

When the time came for choosing plates for my home, what kind of plates was I drawn to? Why of course, I remembered that incident and started searching for white plates. I heard about the new Corelle that was out, and the glowing testimonies of its durability. But their solid white with absolutely no scallop or raised design seemed rather plain. But after searching, it seemed there was nothing else to be found. At last, the plain white Corelle was settled on. They have functioned well, with many different children washing them, with only a few broken ones, compared to all the use, over the last two decades. There was nothing to complain about. They had served me well.

Then, one day at a garage sale I found a few white Corelle plates with a light gray outline of five-petaled flowers, with vine and leaves. It was beautiful! Where had this design come from? It was never seen in the display at the retail shops! It was just the delicate little touch I had desired! For a small price, they were purchased with the hope of some day finding some more to match them.

Time went on; I was shopping at the Goodwill, and guess what I found?! Six big plates with those little, five-petaled flowers! There were six of them for only 99 cents each. I had four; this would give me 10 big plates. I promptly put them in my cart. Then a conversation with my husband came back to my mind. He had recently mentioned that I should not spend money on any thing that we really didn’t need. Did I really need these plates? No, I had plates. But this is a rare find, I argued! I stood there, trying to find a way that would be permissible to obtain them. I even thought of calling my husband and asking if I could purchase them since it was only a little under six dollars. But he had already told me not to buy anything that we really didn’t have to have, as the budget was going to be rather tight the next month or so. So they were placed back on the shelf. As I walked away, I knew that the Lord could provide them again, if it were His will for me to have them.

Months passed, and one day just recently a neighbor called. She asked me what pattern in Corelle I had. She was at a sale and had found six big plates, pie plates and cups in that rare design for only $2! She hadn’t had a clue of my struggle that day at the Goodwill, almost a year ago. But the Lord knew about it. How blessed I felt! And it cost even less for the larger amount!

In pondering this blessing, I was so glad I obeyed my husband and the Lord. In using the plates, I feel blessed and happy. If I had not listened, I would not have the blessing. How important it is for us to live in God’s blessing zone.