"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" Matthew 6:19-21
Where is your treasure and where is your heart? What are ways that you are satisfied and/or what would you like to change?
Treasure
ReplyDeleteby Pat Mason
There are times, fleeting though they may be, when all just seems right in the world.
We spend time with someone we connect with and the rest of the world just disappears and we know that that time has been time well spent.
We get involved with an activity that we really are passionate about and time loses its meaning, and it's okay.
We pass a few moments of quiet time and are able to be truly still and know that God is God and that the universe is in good hands, and we can let go.
Those moments to me are treasures and I would like to have more of them.
Treasure and Heart
ReplyDeleteAt a recent church women’s retreat, we were told to tally up what we spent time doing – how much of it for others, how much for ourselves and how much for God. My tallies were stereotypically in line with a stay-at-home-mom’s, which I am. Cooking, cleaning, doing things for others, volunteering, etc. Yet it didn’t seem like I was selfless OR like I was completely focused on my children. In fact, if you visit my house (without calling first so that I can’t hide anything), you will notice that DESPITE cleaning ALL DAY (yes, husband, I really, really do…) the house looks like a pack of rabid monkey plate-spinners attacked it. Which they did.
Also, despite doing menu research each week based on cost, nutrition and likability, NO ONE eats what I cook. My loving nutritional gestures are even spurned by the 2-year old, who now says “I HATE mumbamumba-noodowes. It is icky.” Really?? Why would you develop an aversion to mac n cheese? And the husband has to work late, since he is the sole breadwinner, so it’s just me – no not even me, because now the 2-year-old is begging to sit on my lap. And the 5-year-old is already begging for candy for “dessert”. (as a reward for the ONE molecule of startch she briefly held her tongue to.) And volunteering for school/church/girlscouts/etc. etc. is sometimes a great way to make your family resent whatever it is you are volunteering for. So what the heck??
Wherever your treasure is, there your heart is also. It would seem that I am treasuring my family, but am I? Maybe I am instead treasuring the work over who the work is for and a standard I think I need to be. Taking the time to treasure my kids is terrifying though. What if I love them too much? And then something happens to them or else they spread their wings leave me, as they were designed to do? Loving my kids is complicated – I have to love conflict, which I expertly avoid with a one-two punch of customer service and then sarcasm. When the customer service inevitably fails their random, unrealistic demands. (“I want candy for dessert.” “Well, honey, you have to take a no thank you bite!” “I just did”. “REALLY. That was a bite? When did you turn into an amoeba with a microscopic mouth?”).
At the Ash Wednesday service tonight, they were putting ashes on children’s, baby’s and teenager’s heads along with those of us supposedly closer to being dust. The only difference was the goofy grin on almost every kiddo going up for ashes. That is how we should be. Live. Don’t worry about the ash part. Enjoy everything because everything is a gift from God. A lot of pressure, I know…but what I mean is, I need to focus more on storing up love within my children, my husband, others, be lavish with it – not by working harder on what I have been doing, but by being more present with each and every one. We are all stardust and golden and every kid tonight was aware of that – unlike my own self, clawing at my mantle of ‘aliveness’ to make sure it is still there…my Dumbo’s feather of safety for myself and my kids that really means nothing – especially if I don’t sow the love now, while we are here – together – now. Not to say that I am going to try to ‘treasure every moment’. I refuse to treasure whining. Really. Can’t think of a Godly spin on that one. However, I do see that I am called to lead with my heart more than I am currently leading with my hands and be more present with my children and husband and loved ones and give them my earthly hugs while I am this orderly ash that took the shape of a human being. I can silence their whining momentarily with an “I love you”.
Big Leaf Maple
ReplyDeleteFlicker probes rough bark,
Optimistic, not worried
About tomorrow
— Dave Patneaude
Treasure – Do most people think of gold and silver – money – when they hear the word treasure?
ReplyDeleteI think many of us understand that the greatest value – treasure - is what is unseen.
Today I am reminded of the song my girls used to sing, called the Magic Penny: “Love is something if you give it away, give it away, give it away. Love is something if you give it away, you end up having more. It's just like a magic penny, hold it tight & you won't have any. Lend it, spend it & you'll have so many, they'll roll all over the floor.”
Love is the treasure. The more love I give away, the more comes back, so I have even more to give! We love because God first loved us. (1 John 4:19) That is the treasure.
I love that song! : )
DeleteAsh Wednesday Redux: Feb 23, 2012 Thursday
ReplyDeleteThree more thoughts about Ash Wednesday
1. One change I make during the Season of Lent is in my attire. Often, I tend to default to the "American Burka" (jeans and non-descript shirt or top....many others wear "sweats", and now [not me] even PJ pants). This kind of dressing allows me to blend in with almost any crowd and become, at will, one of the "unseen". I choose to do this sometimes for personal reasons.
But, during Lent, I try to do as the Gospel says. I make an effort to dress well, wear nice make-up, smile, and hide any personal pains, so that my prayers and Lenten devotions will be between my God and myself. I also stand emotionally exposed for Christ.
2. From Ash Wednesday through Easter Vigil, I also wear, daily, a special old pectoral cross given to me by a friend who got it on a tour for Lutheran World Relief in Ethiopia many years ago. "The Ethiopian Christian Church is the oldest continuing Christian church in the world", she said, "and the design is one that most of the Christian women there wear". It reminds me of the line of continuity with past saints of all the Church. I wear it in their honor.
3. Now that I have retired from the big city (I mean Really Big)on the West Coast, and have chosen to live quietly in a small (1014 pop.)village in the Midwest, I been gifted with a new Ash Wednesday tradition. I live across the street from my parents, who are in their 80's. Usually, Dad has a jazz gig on Wednesday nights, so I go to the Service, sing in the choir, get ashed, and then go across the street from the church to visit Mom, who is now in a wheelchair most of the time. Winter night services are hard for her to get to. Her arthritis and other complications are pretty severe, but her brains are as sharp as a tack. Anyway, she has usually listened to rhe service on the telephone, but when I get there, I carefully retrace the ash cross from my forehead and trace it onto hers, all the time saying the words from the service "ashes to ashes, and dust to dust".
It's a special treat the Lord gives me, to share this, since she was the one who first brought me so faithfully to the House of God. And now she sits in the house that her grandfather built and waits for her turn to go Home to be Stardust again. S.H.
Nani is the (close) second-best example of stardust that there is.
DeleteTreasure
ReplyDeleteForty hours or fifty
Long commuting
Ebbing Frustrations
Problem solving
Graying Hair
Waning energy
to spend time with family
to love with friends
The price is high
and the treasure is great.
Pastor Larry
Treasures by Marlene Obie
ReplyDeleteTemporary treasures I enjoy while we're together:
books, floweers, chocolate, comfort food,desserts,
movies, computers, music playing devices and discs,
living spaces, artwork, quilts, decorative glass,
clothing, quilts, photos, china, jewelry, houses,
furniture, cars, trinkets, computers, TV's,
musical instruments.
Our relationships wax and wane;
some will pass before I do, some later.
Treasures imprinted into the fabric of my memory:
damp sand beneath my feet, ocean mist on my face,
awe-spilling earth, sea and sky landscapes,
odor-packed wafts of mountain pines and cedars,
mesmerizing rhythms of oceans, springs and waterfalls,
smiles, laughter and matter-of-fact logic of children,
their sloppy kisses, hugs, squeals of delight,
sharing joyous milestones in lives
of my children and grandchildren,
laughing with friends and family
till we cry, gasp for breath.
Even these vibrant colors may fade from my knowing.
Treasure I neither bought, nor created,
but a love discovered I've been given
and hang onto for here and now
and there and then, whatever it is.
Strange divididends that expand as they're shared,
100% guaranteed, backed by
Grace Unlimited.
Treasures stored here on earth that I am not happy with hmmm, those continue to be issues around controlling things that my human heart feels and mind thinks will keep me safe and secure.
ReplyDeleteThe true treasures that bring me serenity must be those stored in heaven. I realize I have many. Most are memories treasured in my heart.
My mother's soft skin and the feel of her hands as she washed my tiny hands in a basin filled with warm water. The smell of my father's Pendleton Wool plaid shirt.
My husband's first kiss.
Infant son Mark's first "I wuv you". Son Jason's tiny arms wrapped around my neck.
Feeling my first granddaugter's warm breath against my face and knowing ruhah at that moment. Being one with my second newborn granddaughter as I held her close to my chest, calming her to sleep with my breath. Again, ruhah.
My two grown sons hugging me tightly and telling me they love me.
Like Jesus's mother, Mary, I keep these treasures and ponder them in my heart. They are truly stored in heaven.
DyAnn Dennie aka Nana Lu
Treasure:
ReplyDeleteFunny, I just returned from vacation: Treasure Cay with all it's natural beauty!
I would like to treasure the glory that is all around us in our daily lives
Take the time to notice the natural wonders
Take the time to be committed to our friends and family as they are the best treasures of all!
JackieD