Mammie's Measuring Cup

   

​        I have always loved antiques. I have various possessions that belonged to some of my ancestors, which are very old. These things may not be of much monetary value, but they are of great value to me. One of these items is a very old measuring cup.  This measuring cup belonged to my great-great grandmother who was a faithful Christian throughout her life, and her life was certainly filled with many challenges.  Our family called her “Mammie” and she died at the age of 90 when I was only 3 years old.
          As I have said, Mammie was very faithful in her Christian faith. I was too young to remember her when she died, but those who do remember her say that she was a very sweet lady, who was never known to say anything negative about anyone. In her old age, she helped the younger women who attended the congregation of the church of Christ that she attended in various ways. She led a sewing class in the basement of the church building on Saturday afternoons in order to teach the young women how to sew quilts. She taught the women in this congregation as well as those in her family how to cook, and from the accounts I have been given, she was an excellent cook.
         She was also very hospitable. The small house that Mammie shared with my great great grandfather and their children was always open to visitors.  It was very common for a visitor to be sitting at their supper table every night of the week. One person even tried to play a joke on Mammie and my great-great grandfather by putting on fake glasses and a fake mustache and walking into their house and sitting down, waiting to see if either Mammie or my great-great grandfather would ask him who he was or why he was in their home. The only response he was given was Mammie inviting him to supper!
          Mammie kept her faith in God through many challenges in her life. She was married at the age of 15, and she and my great-great grandfather had 9 children. However, Mammie would live to see her husband, 5 of her children, and one grandson die before her own death. Some people allow the death of a loved one to affect their faithfulness to God, but Mammie never did. When asked about how she will deal with a challenging situation that has been placed before her, Mammie was known to say “you just have to trust in God, and He will take care of you.”  She was certainly willing to shine her light for the Lord, just as Matthew 5:16 tells us!
      I have been told by family members about the wonderful faith that Mammie had throughout her life. This helps me to appreciate  the measuring cup that she had even more. This measuring cup is different from my newer measuring cups in that it is made of thick glass, and it is very heavy. When I use this measuring cup (which is on very rare occasions), I try to picture in my mind Mammie using it to prepare her meals just as I am sure she had done for many, many years.  
       Although this measuring cup is old and has not been used for many years, could I still use it to make the same recipes that Mammie made 50 years ago? Of course! No matter how many years have passed, the measurements on the measuring cup are still the same. What was half a cup of sugar back then, is the same today! The rules never change. The same goes for our influence as a Christians, and our ability to teach others. When we pass from this life, we can leave behind us a clear path to Heaven for those who remain on the Earth by living a spiritually Godly life.
      Ladies, if we are faithful to God in all aspects of our lives,  which means we put God above our jobs, our families, or hobbies, and everything else, so that there is no questions about where we are going after we die, then generation after generation of women can look back at how we conducted ourselves in this life, and measure themselves up to our example to see if they are living for the Lord as faithfully as we did. Isn’t that a wonderful goal to have? 
      That is why it is so important that you examine yourselves frequently to make sure that you are doing exactly what God needs you to do. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (II Corinthians 13:5). You are not commanded to just work to save yourself, but you are commanded to help lead others to Christ as well (Matthew 28:19-20). Can your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and so forth use your life as a way to know how to get to Heaven? 
      For you young ladies, can your family and friends use you as a measuring cup to know how to get to Heaven? Can others see that you are a Christian by the way you speak, by the way you  dress, and by the company that you keep? Can they “measure themselves” up to you and know that if they follow your example exactly, then they will receive the blessing of eternal life? I hope so!  We must all work to show more of Christ than ourselves each and every day of our lives. Only then will we be good measuring cups that our descendants can compare themselves to in order to determine how faithful they are to God. Let us all strive to be the best measuring cups we can be!