“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)
Yesterday, God brought three people briefly into my path, who I have known in my workplace for years. One was a surgeon, except instead of working with him in the usual intense environment of surgery, we had the rare opportunity to talk for about 45 minutes.
We reminisced about people who we worked with in the hospital over the past 25 years, but who have since left to go elsewhere. We recalled serious times for coworkers with health problems as well as funny stories and memories of some that still make us laugh.
I told him that I was retiring in a few months, and he asked what I planned to do with my time. After telling him that I write daily meditations, he asked me to add him on my group mailing list.
I was surprised but honored that he would want to be included in the group email of my daily meditations.
In the busy atmosphere of working in health care, that brief time to talk with him outside of the usual work environment, was a rare blessing.
After that, I passed the doctor from my own department, who I see daily, and he told me that he was at a high level management meeting to discuss future hiring in our department. The question arose whether to replace my position after I retire, and he told me that he said to them, “Maria is not replaceable.” I chuckled and thanked him for his kind words.
Then, when I left work for the day, I met up with another man who has worked at the hospital for as long as I have, but in a totally separate department. I had not seen him for years, but we share a very unique connection. When I got married 21 years ago, he and his new bride were on the same cruise ship that Stephen and I we were on, during our honeymoon. It turns out that he was married the same weekend as us.
It was such a coincidence and though I don’t see him very often, we never forget our common honeymoon connection. In our brief walk to the parking lot, I didn’t feel like mentioning Stephen’s passing four years ago, but I asked him how many children he now had, and he said 5. It was so good to see that he was still happy, and it brought back good memories. Then we said goodbye and went separate ways to our cars.
What a special day of reminiscing the past, and feeling so much appreciation for people I’ve known through my workplace over the years. I was sentimentally touched by all three people who are not even close friends, but only work acquaintances. I wondered what the meaning is of those three interactions in a day, and the affection I felt from them and for them all.
It occurred to me that all people God brings into our lives are treasures. The older I get, the more I realize this. In those three consecutive conversations with people, the Holy Spirit just made this truth more evident to me. Every person God sends into our lives leaves an impression, and is a treasure and a legacy left in our hearts.
We don’t bring anything else with us when we leave this earth except the love we give and receive from others. We are here to store up real lasting treasures, not perishable ones.
Legacies are not carved on tombstones, but in the hearts of people. Many acquaintances have left their legacies on my heart. I just want to say that the friends I have been sending these meditations to have each left their individual legacy in my heart, and have become a blessing in my life.
Lord, thank you for the ways that you teach your truth to us, and thank you for the people you have brought into our lives. Bring a special blessing today to each reader, in the form of a treasure and a legacy that will last forever. Amen