Treasures

My one-year-old is now quite an explorer. I love the little quirks that make her uniquely her, like when she scrunches up her nose and snuffles, or when she gently rubs her brother's back when he cries. She also has a habit of pulling things out of garbage cans: papers, wrappers, discarded pens and pencils. At first, I asked myself, "Why does she insist on going through the trash?" Then one day, I found her brother's shoe in the garbage can, along with a little book and a doll. The baby was putting things in the garbage can, things that she thought were valuable. In her one-year-old mind, the garbage can was not a place for unwanted things; it was a treasure chest!

Once again, one of my children has taught me a valuable lesson. Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth... but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven." (Matthew 6:19-20). When I think about the treasures in heaven, I can only imagine grander versions of things on earth: shinier jewels, mountains of gold, bigger houses. But I think the heavenly treasures are much more than that, so much more than what we, with our limited minds, can comprehend. And yet, because we can't comprehend the heavenly treasures, we don't want to let go of the tangible treasures we have. We, like one-year-olds, are clinging to our garbage cans full of useless things, when God wants to give us real treasure!