In 1969 when Roger and I opened our wedding gifts, we found that we had been given a generous number of towels. I arranged them in two piles. Those that were white or blue we kept; those that were pink or yellow we put aside for gifts. But there was one set of towels I didn't feel belonged in either pile. I would certainly never hang red and orange jacquard towels in my bathroom, and I didn't feel comfortable giving them to anyone as a gift, either. So I put them away and they sat forlornly on the shelf for several years.
 |
| June 21, 1969 |
Time passed, and when our two oldest sons began swimming lessons at the ages of 7 and 5, I found I had a towel dilemma. All the swimmers would lay out their beach towels on the bleachers at the high school while they had their lessons in the high school pool. Since the towels all looked pretty much alike, our boys had trouble finding theirs. Sometimes other children took our towels by mistake, and week after week there seemed to be "towel problems." Searching my mind for a solution, I thought of those two red towels. The next time I took the boys to swimming, they laid out their two red towels a little self-consciously, but when their lesson was over, they had no trouble finding those two splotches of red. No one seemed to covet them and they never disappeared. My two boys were easy to spot in that sea of little bodies. I just looked for the two wrapped in red, scooped them up, and whisked them home. How glad I was I had not discarded the two unconventional gifts.
 |
| Mark, Sam, and Aaron - Mar Vista 1976 |
Over time, I found other uses for the towels. Our family was blessed with a little daughter who dreaded trips to the mountains because she got car sick. She would climb into the car with her forehead knit in worry. "What if I get sick?" she would say. "Not to worry," I would answer, handing her a red and orange towel. "Put this on the seat beside you and grab it if you feel sick. It will be easy to find in an emergency." Later, as we rolled down the highway, I would look back and see her asleep on the seat, the towel she clutched in her hand wadded up under her head for a pillow, her forehead smooth and relaxed. Those towels became like members of the family, traveling with us to Canada, Utah, Mexico, and other places that ordinary bathroom towels never see. They went on camping trips, fishing trips, and hikes. But they never hung in boredom on the bathroom rack.
 |
| Anne - Fresno |
We found a myriad of uses for these bright friends. Over the years the towels were doll blankets, turbans, capes, and rugs. The uses seemed endless; and because of their unusual color scheme, they were never misplaced or lost.
 |
| Fresno Front Walk - 1989 Aaron, Anne, Sam, April, Mark, Sue, Roger |
Shining up the windows and outside patio lamps for an open house in Fresno after Mark’s wedding, I found myself polishing and cleaning with a red towel. The memory took me back to my own wedding and reminded me of all my experiences with that towel in the years since. It had become a little ragged with time - not as flashy as in former years, but still useful. On this particular day, I reflected on the towel as I made great sweeping strokes across the sliding glass doors and I thought of the important lessons that towel had taught me about life.
There have been times in my life when I have felt a little like these two friends. Perhaps I was not able to live up to others’ expectations, didn’t quite fit in, or my skills were not the talents that seemed to be needed at the moment. An oddball, an outcast - all orange and red when soft pastels were the style. At these low moments I have tried to remind myself that the Lord understands us, even when we are unable to understand each other. No respecter of persons, he looks on the heart and not on the outward appearance and abilities. He accepted the widow’s mite because it was all she has to give. He loved impetuous Peters, doubting Thomases, persecuting Pauls, and wayward Almas. He not only loved them, but made them mighty in his service because they were willing to give what they had. The beauty of a garden is in its variety and contrasts. God's garden is no different.
I thought of a scripture in the 12th chapter of Corinthians that spoke of the diversity of gifts and mentioned the importance of the “less honorable” gifts. Surely, at first glance these towels seemed to be “less honorable” in their gifts, and while capable of the functional work of towels, they fell short in their decorative suitability. Nevertheless, how greatly they had enriched our lives and how often they had shared our special moments. How dear they had become! They were much more a part of our lives than the towels we thoughtlessly hung on the towel rack to dry.
There are people in our lives who are like that, too. They are a little unconventional and at times we don’t know how to put their unorthodox gifts to work. But if we are able to unleash their potential, our lives will be blessed.
"And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness." (1 Corinthians 12:23)
May we learn to value and cherish the uncomely among us, and the uncomely parts that we find in ourselves, for God hath “set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.” (1 Corinthians 12:18)
