Several years ago I was driving to my daughter's college to bring her
home for the Summer break. It was a long trip so I stopped at a little
gas station halfway there to refuel. I pulled up to the pumps behind a
beat up old car. It was at least 20 years old. The metal was rusting,
the tires were balding, and the muffler was held up by a coat hanger. A
young teenage girl sat in the front passenger seat and two much younger
girls were in the back.
After filling my gas tank I walked in to
pay. The mother of the girls was at the counter desperately digging
through her purse. She had bought some small snacks for her children but
still needed five more dollars to pay for them. She sighed and started
to pick up the snacks to put them back. "I got it," I said and
tossed the money on the counter.
The Mom turned and looked at me
with moist eyes. Then suddenly she stepped forward and hugged me. I felt
a burst of warmth in my heart that I am sure traveled to my cheeks as
well.
The Mom let me go and said, "Thank you." She smiled,
grabbed the snacks and hurried out to her children. I stood there
watching them leave and said a prayer for them. Then I walked out into
the sunshine feeling lighter than the air around me.
Looking back
on that memory reminded me too of the passage in the Bible where Jesus
asks the reluctant, rich man to give his wealth to the poor so that he
would have "Treasure in Heaven". I felt so sad for that rich man. He
had given up so much in order to keep so little. The treasures of Heaven
are beyond anything this world can give us. I know this because we carry some of these treasures within us. The love we share, the good we do, and the kindness we give to others are all treasures of Heaven. They
bring us so much joy. They give us so much peace. They light our
paths here on Earth and lead us back to Our Father in Heaven.
The Treasures of Heaven
Today's Bible Verse:
"They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove
out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them."
(Mark 6:12-13)
The Treasures of Heaven
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