One afternoon, while waiting for our children to be dismissed from school, my friend Desiree’ told me she was on her way to an antique store next to look for a pretty birthday gift for her mother-in-law, Dianne. Antique stores are hard for me to resist, and since I was looking for a tea cup to paint a new spring card, I decided to follow Dez’ to the antique store.
Not exactly finding the right thing we were looking for, we went to look at one last table. It was covered in teacups! There a beautiful basket tea cup caught my eye. I held it up and proclaimed, “This is it!” meaning the new spring card idea I wanted to paint with a basket weave design.
Dez’ eyed my find and thought she was agreeing with me as she exclaimed, “Yes it’s perfect! Dianne will love it!” Of course, I had to agree, though the look on my face must have surprised Dez’, because she asked, “Did you want that tea cup?”
Selfishly, I admitted it would be perfect for a new card I was thinking about painting, but highly agreed that it was definitely something that Dianne would love. After much thought, I handed the tea cup over to Dez’, agreeing it was best suited as a gift for Dianne. Dez’ would ask her mother-in-law if I could borrow it for my new card. It was hard watching Dez’ walk away with the cup knowing it was for someone else.
This card represents the wonderful ways of Jesus when He said,
“Give and it shall be given you: good measure, pressed down,
shaken together, and running over will be put on your bosom.
For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 6:38.
This teacup, which I first wanted for myself, was given to Dez’, who gave it to Dianne for her birthday, who loaned it back to me. Not only has this giving gone on, but many tea loving, card giving, thoughtful other people are continuing to give this Tea Cup Card to others they care for.
Surprisingly, as I was writing this story it occurred to me that God had encouraged me to make this a “FOR YOU” card before I even found the cup, or followed Dez’ to the antique store, or negotiated over who should get this cup once we found it. Additionally, as this verse came to my mind, it also occurred to me that the flower bouquet that the bunny is holding, bearing “FOR YOU,” is on its bosom as referred to in Jesus’ message above.
May you enjoy knowing how this card came to be “FOR YOU.”
