| Sunny Side Up Nov. 19, 2003 �2003, Kathleen Gibson Rethinking our investments I love my home and community. I leave it with reluctance, even at vacation time. I've learned to enjoy those times away, but I love most the coming home. After our holiday last summer, the Preacher and I pulled up to find our neighbour, Gene, mowing our front yard. "Caught, ya!" I said. He grinned, welcomed us home, and finished the lawn. Lorraine, our neighbour on the other side, was outdoors too. She'd watered my flowerpots for three weeks, every day. They displayed a riot of color, in spite of summer's withering heat. Seeing those neighbours first seemed right somehow. They're the bookends on the shelf of our life on this street. They were here when we moved in a dozen years ago. Together we've done weddings, anniversaries, funerals, and family crises. They're always there when we need them, quietly supportive and gently bracing. Perhaps we stand straighter because of that. They're treasures. But the best feeling is walking into your own front door after an absence, being greeted by the people and pets and things dearest to you in the world. I set down my suitcase, and just wandered. Checking out other treasures. First I went into the bedroom. A quilt stretched smoothly over the bed. Stitches in a corner read: Blue Pineapple. Nov. 1998. To Kathleen and Rick. Love Margaret. I ran my hand over its precise patches, remembering the treasure of her friendship. In the kitchen my antique jars stood at attention. In the hall, the fish swam contentedly in their bowl. All through the house, things were just as we left them. Our earthly treasures were intact. I picked up the phone to call our son, Anthony, living a few blocks away. 'A treasure beyond price,' his name means. "Hey, Mom! You're home! Neat! I'll come over tomorrow." Hey, Son, I thought as I hung up. Thanks for being happy we're home. That's a treasure for sure. Home treasures. I cherish them. Before every return, I anticipate reuniting with my treasures more than any tourist site on my itinerary. Jesus said this, (my own paraphrase) "Don't store your most important valuables on earth. There's no security there. Invest them in heaven instead -- I'll make sure they're waiting for you when you come home." Rethink your treasures, is what he meant. No one can undo a good you've done for a neighbour. No one can steal the smile you've put on the face of the child who opens your Samaritan's Purse Christmas Shoebox. No moth can chew a hole in the fabric of a community that's stronger because you put your whole self into it. No fire can burn the hours of love you deposit in the life of a child, a senior, a student. Those are investments in heaven. In the end, they're the only treasures one can keep. In the end, they're the things that will make us eager to go home. Some of us need to rethink our investments. You can respond to this column at [email protected] |
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