My Treasure

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

—Matthew 6:21 NIV

As we pack to move, I look around at this house filling up quickly with boxes of memories and of things that we have owned through many years. Each possession elicits a feeling. Some feelings are more joyful that others, but all are a part of our lives up to this point. My father took incredible care of all he owned. Then in just a moment when God reached down to lift him from this world, my father knew the value of what was the most important thing—His relationship with Jesus. That is what stood the test of time. All the rest was here today and then gone tomorrow. And that is what I pray will stand the test of time for me.

I have been “testy” with Pat the last couple of weeks. He thinks that it is my OCD self feeling rushed to pack. But it is much more than that. As we get ready to let go of what has been, I’ve realized that I’m letting go of more of my father and my mother. There are emotions that accompany these life changes. Letting go of the past is hard, and who would have known that moving would be a part of the healing for the grief of losing my father in January?

Loved ones pass, and life goes on. Whatever lies ahead, circumstances both good and bad will come. And with it all one thing will always ring true. What I treasure is what I love. It is where my heart is. I loved Daddy’s gentle heart which always forgave. I treasure the memory of helping him with his computer, and seeing that grin when it was working right. I loved Mama’s fierce determination to make a difference in the lives of other people. I treasure how her character impacted my life. The things in the packed boxes—some of them are theirs and some are ours—remind me that I knew a love that has made a difference in my life. The things are not the treasure. What I had with them was my treasure. What I have with Pat and my family now is my treasure.

What I love is what I value. These possessions may have meant a lot to me, but they have not added value to my life.  Only the intangible gift of love from God has.  So as I work to pack and to move, I remember the amazing gift of His love, and that all these things are just things. He....the gift of family and friends.....is my only treasure.

©2018 Lynn Lacher

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