Aunt Matilda's Candelabra

This manuscript was presented at the 2002 Write-to-Publish Conference at Wheaton, Illinois where I was awarded Best New Writer of the Year Award.  

                                             MIRACLES OR MERCHANDISE

                                            (Aunt Matilda’s Antique Candelabra)           

                                                                       By

                                                         Janet Baird Weisiger

My hand trembled as I hung up the phone.  “She sold that candelabra for $8,000!  I can’t believe it.  She never thought of me,” I wailed.  “That candelabra was supposed to be mine!” 

I vividly remember how often I admired my aunt’s candelabra.  It always stood in the center of her dining room table, polished to a fine patina, reflecting the flickering soft light of the tall lighted tapers.  As a young girl I gazed at the priceless antique, admiring its intricate shape, entranced with its lovely beauty. 

I fantasized its history.  Over how many parties had this silver piece presided? It had flickered over conversations of romance, intrigue, betrayal, happiness and sadness.  I  thought of the long line of ancestors who had proudly displayed this treasure.  Yes, there is no doubt.  From my earliest years I wanted this candelabra.

The owner was my rather eccentric Aunt Matilda who had conveniently inherited a sizeable estate following her husband’s death.  As a child I envied her affluent lifestyle.  She employed a full time maid who quietly and efficiently attended to Aunt Matilda’s every whim. 

Every Thanksgiving I had to sit in perfect composure as our family consumed the traditional turkey dinner prepared and served in elegance at Aunt Matilda’s drafty old home.  I suffered the discomfort of the rich gravy that bloated my stomach.  I endured the admonition to take ‘just a tablespoon of turnips’, a vegetable I despised.  And to add misery to my boredom, there was never anything for a young girl to do.  Since Aunt Matilda never had children, I had to sit for hours in my Sunday dress and listen to adult conversation. 

But I did love to look at Aunt Matilda’s beautiful things.  My very favorite was the glorious candelabra.  I fancied myself as a famous concert pianist, dressed in a long flowing dress with the lights of the candelabra flickering in time to the music.  I dreamed of dancing in the arms of my dear one as the glowing candlelight lit some grand room of my future home.  I thought of the years ahead with own family and the presence of the silver candelabra gracing each birthday, graduation, and wedding celebration.

In my small self-centered mind I felt confidant that this priceless treasure would be mine!  Did Aunt Matilda know this?  As I reflect, I remember always admiring the candelabra in my aunt’s presence.  In fact I was honored that she let me borrow it several times for special dinner parties in our home.  But, no, I never actually asked Aunt Matilda for it.  I just thought some day she would give it to me.  Surely Aunt Matilda knew I would love to have it and she would of course just leave it to me in her will.

I coveted that old silver candelabra!

Did I say “covet”?  Ouch!  We are not supposed to covet.  God has said you must not want for yourself something that belongs to someone else.  I knew that.  But God’s law did not keep me from wanting it, seeing it in my home, using it.  Why I even had a place all set aside for it!  No matter what God’s law said, I wanted that candelabra!  After all, didn’t I deserve it?  I was her only niece.  I was the one who loved it passionately.  Surely, Aunt Matilda would give it to me one day.

Last month Aunt Matilda turned 92 years old and entered an adult residential home.  After being on the waiting list for six months, her turn came for admission and within two days she made a decision to sell her home and all her furnishings.

I waited for the phone call.

As she is distributing her property, she will remember me and because of her great love for me, she will at last give me the candelabra.  At least that’s what I kept telling myself.

Finally, I decided to phone her myself and wish her well in her new home.

“Everything was auctioned and the proceeds given to charity.”  Aunt Matilda announced.  “It was splendid,” she added.  “All those things brought in over $120,000.  Can you believe it?”

I hesitated, then blurted, “The candelabra, too?  What happened to the candelabra?”

“Oh, my dear, that alone went for $8,000!” she exclaimed.  “I never realized it was worth that much!

Tears stung my eyes.  I hastily ended the conversation.  I was stunned.  The candelabra was supposed to be mine.  Didn’t she know?  How could she give it to someone else!  What a selfish thing for Aunt Matilda to do.  Instead of keeping those treasures in the family, she sold them at auction!  How horrible and unloving of her! 

I felt rejected and bitter. Gone now were my visions and dreams of that beautiful antique in my house and in my possession.  I was inconsolable.

Later that day, as I collected the mail, a letter dropped out of the pile of catalogs and other advertisements.  Ah, real mail for a change, I thought.  I recognized the return address of friends from Virginia.

“Thank you so much for your loving letter you sent last month.  This has been a very painful time for us and your words and your choice of scripture was just what we needed.  We are attending church again and receiving a blessing.  We keep your letter next to our bed and every night we read your words which remind us that we have a faithful God who loves us and will never forsake us.  Thank you for your love, prayers and support.”

I stood there staring at the letter.  This is what matters in life.  This is what is important.  Not material things, not mere merchandise, but the miracle things, the things of God.  I coveted a thing that would tarnish or be stolen some day.  But sharing God’s love brings eternal treasures.  By sharing His Word and His love with my friend, she received encouragement and blessings. 

            Suddenly I was ashamed.  I was the one who had sinned.  I had coveted something that did not belong to me.  I was the one who had been selfish.  

“Oh God,” I cried, “forgive me!”

I rushed to the scriptures for some direction, some message and found it.  

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

                                                                 Matthew 6:19-21  NKJ

God showed me that I must focus only on Him.  Material things, mere merchandise, are worth nothing in His kingdom.  Only His miracles and his Word are eternal.

c 2002