I've never been much of a jewelry wearer; in fact, I'm not very foo-fooey at all. I have worn the same three rings for many years, a signet ring with my initials engraved on it and two plain silver ones. I only wear unassuming silver earrings, and one of the two necklaces around my neck holds a medical identification tag and the bone-shaped tag from my little J.R.'s collar. My other necklace, however, is a journey necklace ... a beautiful, diamond-filled journey necklace that my daughter Meghann gave me several years ago. The only times that necklace has been off my neck since she gave it to me are the times I clean it. You see, that necklace carries with it a ton of meaning for me, and I still have the card Meghann gave me on Christmas morning the year she gave me the sparkling reminder of the journey she and I had shared. That necklace will forever remind me of my daughter and the path we traveled together that particular year ... a journey both tender and tough ... a journey that neither of us will ever forget.
As much as I've never had an affinity for most types of jewelry, I must say that I do have a thing for bracelets ... between my two wrists, I wear five different ones. In my own defense, one of those five is a medical ID bracelet ... a medical ID bracelet that I fought against wearing for several months after I was diagnosed with diabetes. I saw wearing medical identification as being branded, and it took a few serious blood sugar issues and my doctor chewing me out to get me to finally cave in and buy a bracelet. And before any of you email me to ask why I wear a medical bracelet and a necklace, it's because all my "stuff" won't fit on one tag. For the last several years, I also wore a bracelet that I purchased at a Women of Faith conference ... braided leather bands with a silver bar in the middle with writing on it. It was very "me," and I loved that bracelet. It had become way big on my wrist, though, because I've lost so much weight, and the leather bands were getting worn and frayed so I knew that the time was coming when I would no longer be able to wear it.
A few weeks ago, I received a package in the mail at work. That surprised me, because the only time I get mail of any type at work is when I order something online and have it shipped to my office. I knew I hadn't purchased anything, so again, I was surprised when our receptionist brought the padded envelope to me. I was even more perplexed when I opened the package ... inside was a card with a message printed on it ... a message without a signature. There was also a small velvet bag that contained an engraved stainless steel bracelet with a leather band ... it's me ... very, very, very me. It didn't take me long to guess who sent the gift, but it did take me a while to figure out what the engraving was and what it meant. I'm not going to share all of what the bracelet says ... it's engraved on the front and the back ... but I will share this much. The front of the bracelet is engraved in Hebrew, and one of the words is "warrior." A very special note ... a very special bracelet ... a very special friend.
The weekend used to be my favorite part of the week ... spending time with friends, going shopping, worshiping at church ... not so much anymore. The weekends are the hardest days of the week for me now, and I spend most of them at home lying on the couch watching mindless television. Some weekends are harder than others, and I don't know why. As the afternoon wore on today, though, I could feel the darkness swirling around me ... the "I'm going home and climb in bed and pull the covers over my head and not come out until Monday morning" darkness. Sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic as I made my way home this evening, I looked down at the bracelet on my wrist, and I thought of the words in the note that accompanied my now favorite bracelet. I've found myself often removing the bracelet from my arm, holding it in my hand and running my fingers back and forth across the engraved Hebrew message ... I took the bracelet off and cradled it in my hand as the car in front of me inched forward. Warrior, warrior, warrior, I said aloud. Warrior ... be a warrior ... warrior, warrior, warrior ... be a weekend warrior.
"The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, 'The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior.'" Judges 6:12
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