Yesterday morning I was putting on a different necklace - I usually wear the same one for 'everyday' activities and change it only when I'm going somewhere, or if the top I'm wearing requires a larger pendant / longer chain etc. I decided the new one didn't look right, took it off and reached for my usual necklace. It's a short silver chain, on which hangs a silver cross, anchor and heart, attached together on a very small silver ring.
People I meet wonder what's on the chain, as these items usually hang one on top of the other. Friends who have known me for a long time suddenly reach over to get hold of them and take a closer look. "I have worn this almost every day of the four years you have known me!", I said to The Piano Player. "Really! Well, maybe it's usually hidden under your jumper", he said. "Maybe", I agree, but I wonder if it just because I do wear it everyday that he's never noticed it before. "What is it?", he asked. I explained it's a cross, an anchor and a heart, representing Faith, Hope and Love/Charity. I've had a similar conversation on several occasions. "Why is the anchor Hope?", someone asks. I'm no longer entirely sure, but I say something I remember from junior school assemblies about Hope being your anchor: "May your anchor hold in the storms of life" goes the song I remember singing, but don't remember any more lines. But however vague my memory of this may be, I do believe that an anchor of Hope is a wonderful and positive image, and one I like to hold on to.
The necklace was given to me when I was still at school, by a friend with whom I have long lost touch. I don't remember why she gave it to me. We weren't best friends, but we were good friends (I think we bonded over dental braces). I'm fairly sure the necklace was not a birthday or Christmas present. Its overt significance as a gift has been lost somewhere along the line. But every now and then as I reach for my everyday necklace, I remember that she bought it for me and wonder what she's doing now. And I wonder what she would think if she knew I still wear it at all, let alone everyday.
I wear my necklace of Faith, Hope and Love without thinking much about its significance. It's only when I'm asked, that I am consciously aware of the meaning of the cross, anchor and heart symbols I wear everyday. I don't know whether Also Had Braces meant me always to have Faith, Hope and Love with me, or whether it was a pretty and affordable necklace for a girl in her early teens to buy for a friend. But that's not to say I feel no connection to or responsibility for the beliefs, ideas and friendship tied up in my necklace - it's just that my wearing of it is not a fully conscious or deliberate demonstration of these things.
Sometimes, I think, it takes an inquisitive eye, a new perspective, or indeed the 'wrongness' of an alternative necklace, to remind us all of the significance of everyday things.
3 comments:
You have reminded me of a song....a hymn...the one you mention...that we used to sing at Easter service. I always liked it, probably because of it's jolly tune but now that I remember (what I can) of the lyrics...I like the idea of an anchored soul, despite the fact that I have long-since firmly abandoned any sense of the Baptist faith which framed my early years. I particularly like the sea-faring metaphor now that I've actually been sailing and experienced the billows rolling...though it was definitely our Skipper who held things together, keeping us steadfast and strong!
Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift, or firm remain?
We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love.
Thank you so much! I've been humming the tune since I put up the post, and I had a few random words, like 'Will your anchor hold in the storms of life, dum de dum dum dum, dum de dum of strife' and I had something 'roll' etc. It was driving me crazy! I was hoping someone would read the post and help me out...
lovely post...
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