Grandmother's Rising Cloth

I remember first noticing the lovely vintage tablecloth my mother was using to cover her rising bread. Where did that come from? She said it was grandmother's and that she had used it for covering her rising bread when she was alive. Oh, no, it is too special to be used for that... She saw the interest in my eyes and presented the beautiful, hydrangea printed cloth to me on my next visit.

I brought my treasure home and attempted to scrub away the oil residue left behind from her days of baking. I wanted to turn it into a keepsake of sorts. I cleaned it to the best of my ability, folded it carefully and with reverence, placed it safely in a drawer as a prized possession. For ten years it lay there...

Then the day came when I was making a huge batch of bread and had nothing large enough to cover my rising dough. Dare I?

I tenderly took out the cloth and found delight in the eyes of my daughter as I explained its tale. She wondered that I could use it at all! But, as my mother had tried to impart to me, I assured her it was much more of a treasure when used. It was as if grandmother was there, baking with us and guiding us on the art of bread-making in her gentle voice. She had died at a young age and her five sons have trouble sharing about her. She left behind a legacy of love, a wonderful hand-made cheese recipe and this tablecloth…

Have you stored away any beautiful memories?

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,

where moth and rust doth corrupt,

and where thieves break through and steal:

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,

where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,

and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

~ Matthew 6:19-21