Treasure!

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, abut if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." Matthew 6:19-24

I am reminded that whenever I hear the word treasure, the first images that come to mind are not stores of gold in a chest but the faces of my husband and daughters. I have never had much money, nor wanted after great riches, but I have always felt rich beyond measure in their company. Their laughter is brighter than any sparkling gems, their smiles richer than any gold and their company is softer and sweeter than velvet and silk. And I am reminded in them the blessings of God, the tender bounty of God's blessings which is found in relationship with them.

Jesus reminds us today that we are not to worry about money and treasure - which is hard to do in this economy when so many are without the basic necessities of life. We can quickly get anxious when we are without employment and income, and it can keep us from relationships with one another and with God. Jesus invites us to remember the love we have been given and to cling to that in our anxious moments, for God is about caring for our needs and necessities.

Today, I ask God to help me to put aside worry and to be grateful for the many treasures have been given. May this day be dedicated to gratitude for the love that has been showered down upon me and which is made real in my family. May we all take time to day to say thank you for the blessings we have and deepen our trust that God is in the midst of our need, bringing solutions to the hardest trials we face.