4 One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. 5 I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works. Psalm 145:4-5
Each year, as I come to New Year’s Day, I consider resolutions and reject them, knowing I’d never properly follow through. Even when it came to resolutions regarding faith that I made, I have been sporadic in observing them, in spite of my good intentions. So, once again this year, I’m eschewing New Year’s resolutions. So I won’t be writing any here. Instead, I’ll tell you about my necklaces.
I wear two necklaces almost all of the time. Actually I wear three, but one is simply for adornment and is worn ALL the time (because the latch is broken and it’s too hard to take off and put on), but I’m talking about the two that have meaning to me.
One was given to me for my last birthday, so it’s a new one. It’s a Star of David with the fish symbol for Christ in the center. This is who I am. I didn’t stop being Jewish when I accepted Jesus as Messiah; Judaism is a part of me and always will be, but so, too, is my Christianity. The duality is not in conflict, but each part complements the other. So the necklace combining the two is appropriate for me, a Messianic Jew, because that is who I am.
The other necklace consists of a gold chain with several charms. Each charm says something to me, reminding of who I am and Whose I am. Their order on the chain has no meaning, but I’ll tell you about them in the order in which they sit on their chain so I won’t leave any out.
The first charm is a key. It reminds me that I hold the key to the Kingdom, that the Kingdom is both here and to come, and the coming Kingdom will be perfect and glorious. But while I am here, my job for God is to help Him advance His Kingdom here.
Next is a safety pin. This is a charm I bought for myself while shopping for a gift for a friend’s daughter who was about to have her first communion. It is gold, but it’s a real safety pin. Once when my pants popped a button at church, I took it off the chain and used it to hold them together until I could get home and sew the button back on. Anyway, the safety pin serves to remind me that I need not fear failure because God and I can fix the mistakes I make. God gives me the tools I need to do whatever jobs He calls me to, and when I mess up, the means to fix things until He can perfect them once again.
Next comes a chai. Chai is a Hebrew letter and stands for “life.” Those familiar with Fiddler on the Roof know the song “To Life, to Life, L’Chaim.” My chai reminds me of Who gives me life, and abundant life at that, and to Whom my life belongs. The number associated with chai is 18, so frequently, when I make a charitable contribution, I make it in multiples of 18 in the hope that the money I am giving will serve to help give life somewhere, either physical life in the case of medical contributions, or spiritual life in the case of religious contributions.
Next to the chai is a South African rand. A 14-carat frame holds the 24-carat rand. This reminds me that, although I am not yet perfected, God is refining me. There is good in me, but I am not totally pure; there’s other stuff in me, too. But because Christ is in me, when God looks at me he sees the pure 24K Christ, not the amalgamation of me. And while I remain in His hands, the refining process continues.
After the rand comes a shamrock. A dear friend gave it to me for my birthday one year, commenting that it would bring me luck. I thanked her, but commented that I don’t really believe in luck, to which she responded, “That’s because you don’t have any.” Well, I still don’t have any – the only thing I’ve ever won in my life was a turkey, and I still don’t know who entered my name in that drawing. But the shamrock reminds me that I don’t need luck. I have a God that wants good for me, a God who will be with me through everything I go through – the good and the bad. He laughs with me in my joys and weeps with me in my sorrows. I don’t need luck because I have been given so very much more – more than I can even imagine, much less see.
And the last charm is a heart, a reminder of Whom my heart belongs to. My Lord and my King, my God and my Father, is the greatest love of my life. And I know that I am loved with a far greater love than I am capable of giving or even totally comprehending. So, as I play with the charms on my necklace, they connect me to my faith and remind me of how very blessed I am. My charms are ornamental, but they also serve as reminders that help me meditate on His wondrous works in me and for me.
Prayer: Lord, I thank you for the many tools You give that help us when we meditate on Your word. I pray, that as we look at this new year, Your blessings will abound as always, and You will give us eyes to see and recognize them. Give us thankful hearts. Amen.
Emily Montfort