Rags

This was the answer to a clue in a crossword puzzle this past week. The clue was "a worn out cloth". I took immediate exception to this...that is...that it was "worn out".

Rags are very useful to us. Maybe even could be considered a neccesity. What would we do without them? A world without rags would be a poor one indeed.

In my youth for sure, rags were a necessity, and they were never thrown away. They were used for all kinds of cleaning chores, in and out of the house; for many medical needs - bandages, sore throats, slings, mustard plasters, boil and cut dressings; for strainers of all kinds; for paddings and cushions; and for absorbents of all kinds.

I have a small, fuzzy, yellow, was-at-one-time pajama top made by wife, Deloris, and worn by daughter, Trella, that has been in my shoe shine box for at least fifty years. Shoe polish smudges of all colors are evident, but there are still some unused places that will probably be useful as long as I live. I have already "willed" it to Trella. Just think of all the hundreds of shoes it has shined?

It has always been right where I last used and placed it. It has never complained or been unwilling to be pressed one more time into gooey, oily, smudgy shoe polish. It has never been washed, dried or ironed, and it has never been recognized or honored until this writing. I have never once thanked it!

IT'S PURPOSE HAS BEEN TO SERVE ME, AND IN THE PROCESS MAKE HUNDREDS OF SHOES LOOK NEW, AND SHINY, AND THEIR WEARERS LOOK GOOD. What would I do without a shoe polish rag?

Even lowly rags have a highly useful, significant purpose. Surely there are ways I can bless others.