Treasure

 Lay up your treasure in heaven...

where neither moth nor rust will destruct. 

This is a Bible verse, my paraphrase, and it is one many of us may recognize. 

There are many things we can treasure. Some value their homes, their decorations, their electronics. Other treasure jewelry, or cars, or other expensive items. 

There's nothing wrong with these things... after all, they are just things... 

but if we put too much emphasis on them, it can skew our view. 

Sometimes, we can begin to define ourselves by our possessions. 

I recently read a comment on social media talking about how Christmas presents would most likely be late... about how shipping and product availability has been affected by numerous elements of the pandemic. This is a true need, as many nurses could attest in the immediate beginning, when valuable PPE was unavailable. 

In our drive-thru, insta-moment culture, we expect results now. Online shopping has made our desires available at the click of a button. Delivery trucks mean you don't even have to go to the store to buy it. Buying "things" has never been easier...

if there are things to buy. 

And we waste so much money on useless stuff. I"m not being preachy here, because I have PILES  of books (that I treasure)... so many that I most likely will never read them all... but that doesn't stop me from buying them. 

I buy books because I value them. 

When we treasure something, we put an emphasis on it. 

When something is valuable to us, we prioritize it. 

We think about it more. 

We go out of our way to spend time in that activity. 

We put our resources into it.. money, yes, but in today's economy, maybe even more importantly, our time. 

As we continue into the fall season, through the holidays and looking toward Advent, may we remember what is most important and treasure that. 

Treasure the experiences. 

Treasure the moments. 

Treasure the memories, without always looking through the camera on our phone (I'm guilty!)

Treasure the eternal...

because that will last forever.