Antiqued

I was recently given an amazing gift: a vintage, 1950’ s era kitchen mixer. It is aqua blue, has a matching bowl, and raises up and down on a stand. The bowl sits on a spinner and turns round and round when the mixer is running. The on/off switch lists a dozen settings, from muffins to white sauce to eggs . . . it’s incredible, I tell you. My modern hand-held mixer only has high, low and off. My son found this mixer as he rummaged through an old shed (with permission, of course.) The old-timey color and the fat, round cord and plug fascinated him. The shed’s owner told him he could have it if he wanted it; it was just sitting there gathering dust. And that’s how I ended up with an early Mother’s Day gift. The coolest part: it still works. I plugged it in for a test run, and it started right up. I used it this morning to beat eggs. This made me wonder: how old does something have to be, to be considered an antique? I did a little research, and came up with a multitude of answers. Some say if something is out of production, it can be called an antique, even if it was only produced a couple of years ago. Others say it must be a hundred years old or more, and still others say fifty years is old enough to be called a relic. Cars have their own set of rules. If a car is 25 years old, it can be shown at antique car shows. Which means my first car a 1971 Subaru, which came to me in 1984 was over halfway to antque-hood when I first owned it. If only I’d seen the value and kept it, I might have a priceless artifact now. I’ve come to the conclusion that stuff is way cooler when it’s old. Which is good news for me, because apparently I’m getting better by the minute. Seriously. With every breath I take, I increase in value. If the definition of antique means “out of production,” I suppose each of us qualifies. We’re all one-of-akind creations, and as soon as we’re born, the mold is broken. There will never be another manufactured, exactly like us. If antique means “really, really old, well-preserved and valuable,” I suppose we could call God’s Word the ultimate antique. It’s been around since the beginning of time. Its worth never decreases with use; instead, the more we use it and apply it to our lives, the more value it brings. The wisdom found within its pages is timeless and classic, and will never go out of style. Yet like that lovely mixer that sits on my kitchen counter, God’s Word is often seen as outdated. It gets put on a shelf, or in a shed, to gather dust. And there, it doesn’t do anyone any good. But like that mixer, the knowledge and understanding offered within its pages is free to anyone who seeks it. And no matter how long it’s been ignored, we’ll find the moment we plug it into our lives, it works beautifully.