Treasures

Sometimes I forget.  Do you?  I get caught up in all the big people stuff, the "important" stuff, the stressful stuff, the adult stuff, and I just forget.  I don't do it on purpose.  I don't think any of us do.  And I don't forget because I want to.  I think most of us long to not forget.  But life, in all of its everydays, its mountaintops and its valleys push from our sight the very things we have sworn never to forget.

Today, I remembered.

I remembered when I went on a little nature walk with five little kids; two from Sudan, one from Indiana, one from "here" and one from "her house."  This little group of nature explorers joined me and my helper Graham as we went on a scavenger hunt for all kinds of fun things.  We looked for "something fuzzy" and "something round."  We looked for "two kinds of seeds" and "two different leaves."  We looked for "something beautiful" and for something we would call a "treasure."

Have you ever taken a nature walk with kids?  The tiniest things become the most amazing miracles in a matter of seconds.  Things we walk past on a daily basis and never even glance at can cause a group of kiddos to drop everything, gather around you and make noises as if the fireworks of Independence Day were exploding overhead.  Today in particular the miracles of a giant seed pod, a walnut still covered in green, goldfish in a little pond, and a bug (I don't even know what kind of bug - it flew, that's about all I know) elicited these exclamations of joy from the kids.  For an hour we walked around filling our bags with all things nature-y.   

At the end we gathered together for a "show and tell".  The kids dumped out their bags, we went though our list, and they showed what they got for each item.  Then on the way back, I told them to look for something they would call a "treasure."  Something really special like a sparkly rock or a beautiful flower.  And one little red-headed, super-sweaty, incredibly cute little guy looked up at me, squinted and said, "But I already have a whole bag full of treasures."

And he did.  Because those things he had picked up, and "oohed" and "ahhed" over, and carefully selected from the beautiful property we walked on, those were indeed his treasures.  He saw beauty in each of of the objects he chose.  He saw worth in each rock, stick, leaf and flower.  He saw value in it all.

Beach with the family 

I'll be honest with you all.  I've been mopey this week.  Over the past months as friends were leaving and school was ending and life was transitioning (again), I kept looking forward to VACATION as some beacon of light and expectation of joy to come.  But, as most of you know, after an absolutely fabulous week at the beach with our Indiana family, we came home.  And now there wasn't a vacation to look forward to.  Now stretched before us a hot summer, with an very empty-looking neighborhood and very long days and I got mopey. 

I forgot the treasures.  Like, the chance I'll have with my kids to explore our area and spend time with them without competing with friend time.  Like double dates with friends who are still here and willing to try new restaurants and participate in a trivia night at a coffee house with us.  Like quiet afternoons and long walks in the evening.  Like sleeping in and not setting alarms.  Like Back Porch Art (a fun morning for the kids of Asbury Seminary with fun activities and lots of love) and hour-long conversations with friends on the phone.  And morning devotionals on my front porch and glimpses of God in the joy of community.

Just because there are clouds like friends leaving and bills to pay and schedules to coordinate and decisions to make doesn't mean that sun disappeared.  The treasures are there.  Go look at a flower.  Go play in the rain.  Taste a new food.  Try a new game.  Sit quietly and just remember all the blessings you have had and currently enjoy.  And don't forget to "ooh" and "ahh" and speak the joy that you can find.  Just like my little red-headed friend this morning, find the value, seek the worth, in the the things you have been given.  

Do you know love?  You have a treasure, a beautiful gift, a precious present.  Have you felt the sun on your face?  You have a treasure, a sweet sensation, a quiet moment.  Has God ever whispered to you?  You have a treasure, incomparable riches, inexplicable value.  Have you laughed?  Have you hugged?  Have you shared a meal or been blessed by a friend?  We have "bags" full of treasures, my friends.  The value cannot be overlooked, especially in the moments where we feel most bankrupt.  We need to open up our hearts, look inside our memories, "count our many blessings, name the one by one," and see all the treasures.

I'm glad I remembered today.