I remember when I was a newly engaged girl, my mother and father provided a hope chest for me. We weren't very well off, but they acquired an old writing bureau which they kept in their bedroom for me as my own room was too small. This hope chest was filled gradually with all the usual things to ensure a well stocked home with crocks and linens.
But I found this was not its primary purpose for me. It became my focus and purpose in life- reminding me of the task ahead of becoming mistress of my own home. Each time I added something to it, it filled my soul with longing for the day of marriage and hope for the future.
As I worked and saved for my wedding and new home, it became my anchor. Every kitchen article was added with dreams of me cooking delicious meals for my beloved. Each towel I folded filled me with visions of them flapping on the line and I would plan how to wash them properly and keep them soft and fluffy. Fluffy enough to wrap up my new baby after its bath.
As I worked and saved for my wedding and new home, it became my anchor. Every kitchen article was added with dreams of me cooking delicious meals for my beloved. Each towel I folded filled me with visions of them flapping on the line and I would plan how to wash them properly and keep them soft and fluffy. Fluffy enough to wrap up my new baby after its bath.
For every sheet and blanket focused me on the physical side of marriage filling my heart with the promise of children conceived in love. As I added to my picnic ware, my mind would race imagining flying kites, feeding the ducks by the pond and country drives with my husband and children ..life held great promise for me in that hope chest...and although mine was not a true hope chest- it was still full of hope.
Not many brides keep hope chests these days, but they are making a comeback. With young adult children leaving their parents' home much later, they are now buying a hope chest and filling it up for when they finally set up their own homes, with or without a partner.
With a lot of young adults buying a home without getting married, the hope chest of years ago has taken on a new meaning. Once the domain of the bride, the hope chest is now the hope of the single man or woman eventually being a home owner.
To me, it's not nearly as romantic as the hope in my hope chest and now represents the loneliness of the youngster lamenting not having a soulmate and also being unable to afford a home of his or own for years.
Still, I suppose it's something to strive for even though it brings new meaning to the hope chest.
© Glenys Robyn Hicks
So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Psalm 90:12