Wednesday, July 9, 2008

What Does Your Jewelry Say?

On my recent trip to the beach, I bought a few pieces of jewelry. Nothing expensive. In fact, the most I spent on any one item was $10.00. After my 3rd bracelet, I realized that everything I purchased had a common theme...there was a message. Then I thought about most of my accessories. Most of them have a special message or meaning. Not to show off to the world though, but to remind me.

I am a visual person. I mean really visual. Gifts, emails, letters, trinkets with meaning touch my heart deeply and I usually attach a memory with each one I purchase or receive. Examples:

My Rings:

Left Hand

*On vacation I bought a silver ring with a J on it. The J is for my husband's name, Jeff. I look at it and I smile because he is the love of my life.

*Two weeks ago, my husband purchased me a new wedding band. Well, he kind of purchased it. He actually won $1500 to Tiffany's at Bingo. We went to Tiffany's together and got a new platinum thick wedding band, to symbolize a renewal in our love and commitment to each other. This is by far my favorite piece of jewelry. The very plain, neverending circle is a reminder of our simple yet beautiful love. We've faced trials in the past year, but we are together for the long haul. And he is the greatest blessing in my life.

Right Hand

*A silver ring with the word 4GVN engraved on it. This reminds me that NO MATTER WHAT Jesus loves me and I am indeed forgiven by Him. This was given to me by my very good friend Denise.

*And on my pinky, due to swelling and growth of my fingers over time, my engagement ring and wedding ring that my husband gave me 19 years ago, are now on this finger. When I look at them, I am reminded of 2 young people in love having no idea of the wild ride they were about to go on!

Bracelets:

At the beach, I purchased 3 and was given 1:
*I bought a silver Scripture bracelet. It says, For With God, all things are possible. Mark 10:27 This is one of my favorite verses. I need the reminder because I am often full of doubt.

*Another silver bracelet with a simple cross on it.

*Another silver bracelet with a circular pendant on it. On the circle it says HOPE. When my husband and I were going through marriage trials last year, this word was an anchor to me. Jeff gave me HOPE that we could and would make it through our difficult time. The Lord gave me HOPE that He would guide me and love me and get me through whether my marriage survived or not. Thankfully, it's not only surviving, but thriving.

*A Silver bracelet with pink and clear beads. There are 3 silver oval pendants on this one. One says Special. One says Love. One says Forever. Jeff bought me this one at the beach just last week. Thanks honey:) I love you!

*A Silver bracelet with 4 pendants of 4 different shapes. A square with a B on it. A circle with an H on it. An oval with a D on it. And a heart with an HG on it. This was given to me by my Bible study group a few years ago. The letters stand for the names of my children, Blake, Hayden, Dylan, and Hayley Grace.

*A Gold charm bracelet, this is possibly my only gold one! Each charm has a special meaning. I will NOT allow a charm to go on it unless it has a deep special place in my heart. The charms: Blake, Hayden, Dylan Hayley Grace, 1/2 of a heart (my long time and very good friend Amy has the other half), a Charleston Charm, a Fraternity Lavalier (from my husband in college), and Mickey Mouse.

My t-shirts are the same way. Either with a message, my favorite football teams, or a favorite place I've visited. Same with the magnets on my refrigerator. Either the kids made them or they came from a favorite place or a special friend...just sweet little reminders of special people, special memories, and special places. I also love the Willow Tree Figures. I have 3 really special ones: one from Donna who has been like my angel over the past year (it is 2 girls sitting an talking), one is in memory of my dog of 15 years Poppy (it is an angel holding a dog- I bought this one for myself), and one is an angel bowed down in prayer given to me by a high school friend of mine Gretchen to thank me for praying for her. And then there's the little guy. He's so cute. A little Willow Tree Boy freely positioned holding the word HOPE. This one was given to me by Jeff:)

Tonight I'm going to dinner/Bible study with my 2 JAM girls. (JAM stands for Julie, Alexa, and Melissa...we meet every other week to pray, talk about life, and study the Bible. See, I even have a visual name for us...JAM...I'm silly like that!) I bought them Scripture bracelets and Husband initial rings too. I can't wait to give them to them. We have been encouraging each other in our marriages and our walks with God. It is my prayer that these little tokens will be visual encouragement to each of them.

Does your jewelry say anything? What do your clothes say about you? Do you have any special items that remind you of anything?

If I can actually get my camera to work, I'll try to post some pictures of my new jewelry tomorrow! I'm sure you can't wait...just kidding.

Blessings,

Melissa

15 comments:

Joyful said...

Question: Can a post about jewelry make someone cry?
Answer: YES!

I'm a very visual person! And, I'm the same as you - everything I purchase has to have meaning.

This post has touched me deeply, and can I admit, made me a little envious and sad? You and your husband obviously share an amazing relationship. It's sweet, yet hard to read at the same time.

You are blessed my friend. Be so thankful.

For the record, at the moment I'm wearing my P31 t-shirt, P31 necklace and a little, silver link charm bracelet that had 6 charms: a daisy (my "He loves me" flower), a pink princess crown, a cross I received from the first time I ever spoke at a ladies event, a charm my son gave me that says, "I love My Mom", a charm from my son that says, "DANCE" because last year my theme verse was "There is a time to...dance" - a time to live fully, in perfect step in His divine embrace, and finally, (drum roll) Mickey Mouse! (What is it about Mickey Mouse?)

Also have on my favourite earrings - one is a teacup and the other a teapot. Must be my British background!

Hope you're having a wonderful time at Bible study.
Love & hugs,
Joy

Chef Diane said...

Melissa,

Your blog brought me to tears tonight. I have a prayer box necklace and this beautiful diamond that Keith gave me a couple years ago. When he moved out in April I took that diamond and put it in the prayer box necklace. I have given it to God and keep wanting to take it back. The diamond and the words “this one is forever” will remain there until God changes things one way or the other.
Thank you for sharing your precious memories with us.
Hugs,
Diane

Anonymous said...

Melissa,

Great post. I'm not much of a jewelry wearer but I have two pieces that are special to me.(besides my wedding ring!) I purchased a gold cross wrapped in vines when I dedicated my life to Christ and most recently I bought a silver pinky ring that is chain links which represent my freedom in Christ.

Anonymous said...

while we're speaking of jewerly, my pastor told of something special that he had done for his then teenage daughter. He had given her a promise ring when she became a teenager, a promise to wait until marriage. I thought this was a great idea. I bought a necklace that says "true love waits" for my husband to give to our daughter. She will be leaving to go on a trip on Saturday and he will give it to her before she leaves.

Amy L Brooke said...

Sounds like fun. You have a lot of special things there.

I have a Jerusalem Cross that my sister gave me. And then I have a ring Bill gave me. And I bought myself a bracelet that says, "Hope"

Hope you are having fun with your friends.

Marilyn in Mississippi said...

I'm the same way....I have a lot of jewerly....most very inexpensive...but I find that I only wear those pieces that really mean something to me. Some of my favorites that you would see me wearing often if you were nearby are 1] a silver braclet with a 'mustard seed' charm on it and the words "Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand'' Isaiah 41:10 ...given to me by the Sav-A-Life director 2]a gold "prayer" bracelet given to me by my son and made by a local jewelsmith 3]a gold nugget cross pendant/necklace given to me by my hubby many years ago and of course 4]my wedding and engagement rings that symbolize our 35 years of marriage.

I also love the Willow Tree figurines. I just received a new one yesterday from a friend. It's called the Angel of Hope and I just adore it!

I loved reading about your jewerly! Looking forward to the pictures if you get the time.

God bless,
Marilyn

Sharon said...

Wow what a touching post, looks like I am not the only one with the wet face.
What a blessing to be a blessing!!
Thank you..
Sharon

Lynn Cowell said...

Melissa,
For my birthday, Greg got me a t-shirt that says "I Think, Therefore I blog". It hasn't arrived yet...maybe I'll wear it to the office for you to see.
My cross that LeAnn gave us is the first cross necklace I have ever received. It is beautiful!
I loved this post. It is a great reminder that all things around us tell a lot about us!
I miss all of you at P31 TONS! I hope you find some work for me to do soon!
~Lynn

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing, I could really identify. I've loved jewelry my whole life...could be because that is how I saw my father bless my mother, by bringing her trinkets from his trips.
My mother recently passed and I am wearing the special pieces she wore all the time. At first I felt like I was playing "dress up!"
But now I just relish the feeling of her being close. Praise God she knew and loved Jesus and our separation will be short.

Julie Wyatt Kelada said...

HI I am the J of JAM. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new bracelet and my husband initial ring. Actually my hubby loved it too and thought what a great thing.Thank you for the beautiful jewelry my sweet friend Melissa. You are a gift!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for all of the posts on this one. I am a Christian jewelry artisan. I love to create unique pieces that share a special message in some way. It's so nice to see that others observe jewelry as yet another way to get the WORD out!

Anonymous said...

I am on my Journey to Heal from Sexual Abuse, and last year I bought a bracelet that embraces what I hope to find through my Journey to Heal.

It's a Silver Bracelet, and has 3 oval pieces, each one has one of these words on it: Peace-Hope-Serenity

It also has a silver heart that dangles from it, and when I need to distract myself or something, I hold on to this dangling heart.

Peace-Hope-Serenity in your Journey to Heal as well!

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