The Story of the Purple Square Plates

Within a few months of recognizing my act of going to food instead of God for comfort I recognized my desire to shop. I shopped to help me feel better; to help entertain me and the boys; to buy a much needed item; to make my life better. I got all tingly inside thinking about all the things I wanted to bring home. I just knew that once I bought a junk drawer organizer I would be able to function in the kitchen better. I needed to buy my little boys matching trucks so that they would play with them for hours and hours. I needed some strappy brown sandals because they would go with everything I own way better than my strappy brown wedge sandals. And I needed purple plates to match my kitchen decor. It was July 2 when I realized that God hates that I use shopping as a crutch instead of him just as much as he hates that I worship food instead of him. My mom and I were doing a MTC check-in when I admitted this conviction to her. She laughed at me when I told her that I didn’t want to deal with giving up two false idols right now; plus, I really needed those plates. I explained that I have been looking for some solid purple square plates ever since we moved into this house, and I just found them at Shopko yesterday. But God told me not to buy them, and I obeyed! But I think that I need to go back and get them, because they are exactly what I am looking for. I love the square-ness of them, and the purple matches my kitchen perfectly and since I leave my plates out on a shelf in the kitchen they need to match.....


But as the conversation progressed I felt a very strong challenge from God, "Erin- Not only am I saying NO to the plates, but I don't want you to spend a single penny on yourself this month." To try to describe what I felt at that moment is embarrassing, you would think someone- my mom- had died. My stomach flipped and my jaw dropped. I wanted to argue my way out of that challenge. After all- it was only July 2! I said over and over to my mom, "It's impossible. It's absolutely impossible. There is no way... It's impossible. Whatever, God, I'll give it a try... but it's not going to happen. It's impossible... And my plates will be gone! Can't I just start the challenge after I go buy my plates?"


That month was amazing. I cried a lot, and I called my mom a lot. I walked past my plates a lot. But I didn't spend a single penny on myself. Not even for a candy bar. When I got to the end of the month I asked God if I could go get my plates now, and he gave me the thumbs up. When I got there they were on clearance- 70% off. The smile I gave God was too big for my face and I wanted to cry that he would give me such an awesome reward for my obedience. My God got  me through the impossible, and he gave me exactly what I wanted in return. I worship such an awesome God.


I brought the plates home and put away my old farmhouse green ones. I served dinner and put them in the washer. The next morning I put them away on their shelf to be used as decoration. And as I walked by I gave God a little smile and knew that if anyone came over there would be no way they would walk into my kitchen and say, "Huh, why don't her plates match her kitchen? If they are going to be on a display shelf, they shouldn't be green farmhouse plates, they should match the decor." And as I had that thought I realized that I hated my plates. They symbolized all of the ill-founded importance I placed in my special purchases- in objects. I saw my shallowness and my vanity. I saw my naivety and simple-mindedness. I saw an idol that I worshipped that could do nothing for me.


I still hate my plates. But I'm not going to take them down because every time I start focusing on a new chair, or child's toy, or movie, or curtain, I am reminded that I am focusing on a dead idol, when a living, breathing, caring one is willing to give me the time and energy to teach me a long, loving, and freeing lesson through purple square plates.


Following the lesson of the plates, I’ve been learning to live in a constant state of “denial.” It could also be called “self-control”. It could also be called “righteousness.”


 Early, early on in the book- Chapter 6- Lysa talks about those things. As she was trying to answer the question, "How do you grow closer to God?" she brought up the verse, "If anyone would come after me, he must first deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Luke9:23) (60). She answered the question by explaining that we need to intentionally not allow ourselves to have something that is permissible, but not necessarily beneficial. The act of denying ourselves is the real fuel of getting closer to God. When I first read this chapter I passed it over fairly quickly. I understood that she was saying that we can grow close to God if we go to him instead of going to food. Once I got through the book the second time I realized that I was molded enough to truly understand chapter 6. But this time, Made to Crave is no longer addressing my food issues.  Instead, it addresses all of my dead and false idols.