“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”
Matthew 6:19-21 (NAB)
I retired two years ago, but I can never forget one special day a few months prior to my retirement. God brought three people into my path on the same day, as if to present them to me as three gifts.
They were all people who worked at the same hospital all the years that I did. One was a surgeon, except, instead of being with him in the usual surgical environment, we had the rare opportunity to talk when he wasn’t operating. We reminisced about people who we both worked with over the years, as well as funny situations that made us laugh. He asked me what I planned to do as I neared retirement and it was a brief yet rare moment to talk, in the busy atmosphere of a hospital.
Right after that, I met up with a doctor from my department of Neuroscience, who I saw daily.
He told me he just came from an upper management meeting to discuss future hiring in our department. The question arose whether to replace my position after I retire, and he told them, “Maria is not replaceable.” I laughed and thanked him for his kind words.
The two conversations will always remain in my memory since they were such special people and I was blessed to have worked with them.
As that work day ended, while I was walking out the door of the hospital, I recognized a man who has worked there as long as I had, but in a different department, who I rarely saw over the years. The interesting thing is that he and I shared a very unique connection.
He married his bride the same weekend as my wedding, which was my second marriage to Stephen in 2002. We both coincidentally booked the same honeymoon cruise and were surprised to see each other aboard the cruise ship. Since then, we returned to the same workplace for all those years, working in different departments, and I hardly saw him much during all those years. That day we were walking out of the hospital at the same time and greeted each other on the way to the parking garage. He told me that he and his wife of 21 years have five children. It was another rare interaction that brought back happy memories of my marriage, honeymoon cruise, and also Stephen’s passing from ALS.
After we said goodbye and went to our cars, I thought about those three men, the conversations with each of them, and how they were like three gifts sent by God, that day.
The chance to chat outside of surgery with a surgeon I always liked and respected, was one gift. The kind words of the best neurologist in my department was another gift. The man who I never saw much, but happened to be exiting the hospital that day, was like a metaphorical gift, representing all the memories stored up over the years at a workplace that I was soon to exit in retirement.
We bring nothing with us when we leave this world except the love we give and receive from others. We are meant to store up lasting treasures, instead of perishable ones. The legacies that are most valued by God are not those carved on tombstones, but in the hearts of people we touch during our lives. I am thankful for the many people from inside and outside of my workplace whose legacies remain in my heart.
Lord, thank you for the people you have brought into our lives who are a legacy to treasure. Make us a blessing to others which will last forever. Amen
