A Special Goblet
A Special Goblet
Several weeks ago, just as our Wednesday evening small group was about to begin, I noticed a shiny copper goblet in front of Anthony, one of the participants in the group. The meeting started before I could ask about the shiny cup, so I had to wait until afterwards to find out more about it.
“Anthony, did you make this? It’s really beautiful!” I exclaimed later, as we were getting ready to leave.
“Thank you! Well, yes, I did. I am a jeweler by trade.”
Anthony went on to explain how he had started making the goblet about six years earlier. He had the circular piece of copper and had an idea of what he wanted to do. However, it never seemed to come together; so he put it away.
Then recently he took the copper out and looked at it again. This time he decided to give it a try and fashioned the cup out of the circular piece, heating it to soften and shape the metal. The technical word is annealing, which means heating the metal and then cooling it down slowly. Otherwise it would become brittle.
“Copper tends to harden as you work with it,” he said. “So you have to keep heating it up.” The outside of the cup had a lovely textured pattern which came from the hours of shaping and forming it.
Anthony then used a rolled piece of copper for the stand and shaped a base out of another circular piece. Next the base, stand and cup were welded together with a special laser welder.
“It looks different than what I first had in mind,” he noted. Originally he was going to put gemstones around the outside making it look more ornamental. However, he was happy with the beauty of the copper as it was and decided to only add braided strands of the metal around the top edge and the bottom of the base to finish it off. The care, labor and all of the hours Anthony had invested in the goblet certainly were evident.
It is encouraging and exciting to know that when we surrender our lives to God, the master craftsman, He begins to work out His perfect plan in and through us. The inspiring story of a man who was born without arms and legs, Life Without Limits, by Nick Vujicic, is a wonderful example of this. Where most of us would have found Nick’s disability way too difficult and would have given up on life, he has been strong in faith, believing that God has a plan for him. In the process of discovering that plan, he has found joy and fulfillment, meaning and purpose beyond his wildest imagination.
Now Nick travels around the world as a motivational speaker and is the director of a nonprofit organization called “Life Without Limbs!” He connects especially with people, young and old alike, who have been through suffering and have faced tremendous obstacles. He has become a shining vessel of love, inspiration and encouragement and wants to take his story to as many people as he possibly can.
Just consider how God works in our lives when we give Him permission, dear friends, how He constantly changes us, molding and shaping us to reflect the image of Christ! May we become beautiful vessels of His love, overflowing to our family, church family, friends and community.
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1a NIV
(Both photos taken by Al Lowery, 5-22-13)
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