Heavenly Treasures

Matthew 6:19-21

"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."

I walked into the family room and discovered my two-year-old had torn out many of the pages from one of our picture albums and had the pictures all over the floor. They were bent, torn, and slobbered on. There was a picture from Britton's first birthday and one of his brother decorating Easter eggs. I was so angry that I cried as picked up the pictures, trying to unbend them and dry them off where he had been chewing on them.. The more pictures I picked up, the angrier I got. Then I remembered the scripture about storing up treasures on earth. These pictures were earthly treasures, but the moments that they captured were treasures to store in heaven. I might not have the pictures of these important events, but I did have the memories in my heart forever. I felt a bit better, and then I ran to get the camera. I took a picture of the whole mess! SomedayI will laugh when I tell Britton about the mess he made out of my earthly treasures. And as we laugh about it, we will be storing away another heavenly treasure.

~by Leanne H. Ciampa

This devotion is from a book, 365 Meditations for Mothers of Young Children that my mother gave me as a gift when I was a new mother to my first child 10 years ago.. To this day I am still raising babies and I cherish the real stories that the mothers share in this book. I can relate and alot of the times I share the same feelings. It encourages me to know that I'm not the only one having these feelings when something doesn't go my way. It's just awesome that we have such a loving Father in Heaven who cares for us and knows our innermost feelings and when we do get discouraged, the Holy Spirit is there helping us to remember the promises and truths of His word. I'm not perfect, but I am perfected in Christ. And this, I praise God for!
"Lord, may you remind me moment by moment that my treasure is in heaven and not here on earth. So, when my tiny house is a mess and when I can't seem to get my 5 children to keep it clean I can know that this house and the things in it don't mean a thing compared to the precious souls of my children"