Treasure

As I stuck my hand in my coat pocket two days ago, I couldn’t help but smile. My fingers brushed what I instantly knew to be my favorite pair of earrings which I had searched the house for months trying to find! I instantly recalled the last time I wore that coat. It was the day we were rushing my dad to the hospital when he had a major stroke last February.

The months after that are such a blur. Obviously in the fray of all that was going on at that time in my life, I didn’t even remember having the earrings on or taking them off while sitting in the ER with my dad. But it all came back to me when my fingers found them in my coat pocket. I now remember the exact moment I took them off and stuck them in my pocket.

It may sound silly but those earrings were a treasure to me. I loved them and had turned over everything, looking in every possible place I could think of and they were no where to be found. I will admit…in my mind…I had secretly blamed our daughter Collins, suspecting that she had borrowed them, taken them back to school with her and then misplaced them. LOL….she now knows she was accused in my mind! I was thrilled to find them. They were not very expensive but for whatever reason…I loved them.

I wore them the very day I found them. I happened to spend several hours that afternoon reading Scripture by the fire. As I was reading, Luke 12:33 jumped out at me, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” It was no coincidence. God used me finding those long lost earrings I had treasured to impress upon me the feeling of “joy” over what was lost and now found–my treasure.

I sat for a long time and thought about what I “treasured”. I find it to be so very true–whatever you treasure is where you spend your time, money, and your thoughts. It has been a great reminder to me, especially with heading into 2015, to “look back” over 2014 and spend some time reflecting over where I have spent my time and money….because that, in and of itself, will be a “black and white” picture for me of what I truly “treasure!”

I am not sure about you…but at 52 I have learned some things from people I admire and consider to be great teachers, one of whom is John Maxwell. I have heard him speak on many occasions and I have read most every book he has ever written, some of them more than once. One thing I have learned from him is how he spends time around the Christmas holidays. It is something I have duplicated in my own life. Allow me to share.

He usually takes a day or two, sometimes he has taken a whole week, to reflect over the past year. He examines his calendar, his checkbook and credit card statements. He does this to help him plan for the next year. He spends time in thought, reflecting and planning, sometimes redirecting and making changes for the upcoming year. I love a quote in his book, “Failing Forward,” “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail!” I agree with him wholeheartedly on this and many other things he stresses and teaches.

So I encourage you, as you are in the midst of your holidays and would like to have an “intentional and meaningful” 2015, to take the time to reflect. Examine what you treasured in 2014. Ask yourself…

Do I need a heart change?
Am I treasuring the right things?

Reflecting…. could change what you treasure. Taking the time to examine things that are easily seen, like your calendar and checkbook, can be a great way to plan a different upcoming year. At the forefront should be an open heart to a Holy God who helps us see what we cannot see in ourselves.

As in golf…making the slightest “grip” change can totally change the trajectory of your ball flight, thus, aiding you in a chance for a much better score. I so encourage you to examine, “What have you been gripping (treasuring) in 2014?” Maybe, just maybe, if you plan for a “slight” or maybe a “major” grip change, your 2015 could be one that could change the whole direction of your year and life. One that this time next year you will look forward to reflecting on!

Blessings for reflecting and examining what you treasure!

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