There was once a town named Taunton, and as the Lord was walking through this town, he came across an abandoned field. He was always looking for treasure of any sort, and as He walked along, He saw something. Something dull and dirty, glass, with a hint of cobalt blue. It didn't look like much, but as He dug it out, He noticed something. It wasn't just made out of any glass--it was hand-blown glass. It had potential to be a beauty.
So the Lord took this bottle, and He washed it until it shone. Then He polished it, and chiseled as some of the rough edges. But He didn't put it on a shelf, as some people do--He picked some flowers and put them inside.
The Lord's not done with this bottle yet--there's still a few rough edges and chipped places--but as the vessel yields itself to its owner, more and more, the rough places will be smoothed out, and the caked-on dirt will be scrubbed off--until the day the Lord says the work is done.
Meanwhile, as this fragile vessel awaits his perfection, he finds other bottles who look like he did at one point, and encourages them to yield to the Lord, the Refiner.
And also, while he waits, he collects brown, green, and blue artifacts, washes them, and puts them on a shelf, which should serve as a daily reminder of who he is--and what he was--and what he will be.
Do you wonder what people call this bottle of cobalt blue, found by the Lord 44 short years ago? Well, some people call him Paul, some call him Dad--but I call him Grandpa.
