My girls are obsessed with little bits and pieces. The bits and pieces can be a compilation of parts from toys, little toys, Barbie accessories, bracelets and plastic jewellery. They love anything little. It’s the kind of stuff that I would call crap, yet they are treasured by my Esther and Magdalene.
Magdalene is forever collecting her ‘treasures’ and putting them in a plastic basket I originally bought for the bathroom to store their bath toys in. She will insist on redecorating her side table with these treasures and doesn’t appreciate my flare for placing selected toys on her side table.
Esther also loves her little treasures – bits of Barbie accessories and My Little Ponies collected from buying a few McDonalds Happy Meals a couple of years ago.
The treasures clutter the girl’s rooms, but I dare not throw away their treasures because they are theirs and it’s a battle I need to let go as they learn to how to manage their toys and look after their belongings.
To me, as their mum, the treasures are plastic bits of crap that I would happily throw in the bin, but to the girls, the crap is seen as treasure, special items to play with and store.
While I was cleaning up Magdalene’s trash and treasure pile for the millionth time, I thought about the little things in my life that I treasure.
What things do I hold onto, despite them having no real value, that keep me occupied?
Living in the Western world it could be any myriad of things and I don’t think there is anything wrong with having a healthy interest in decorating our home or maintaining a collection of some kind, providing we don’t become obsessed with it. .
I remember writing this post three years ago about a box of trophies I found in a store room that dad and I had to work in. As a young girl, trophies were my treasure and I worked hard to get them.
Nowadays, I work hard to treasure the time I have with my girls while they’re young. It’s not easy to treasure this time because these kids don’t think like me. They create mess and their dependence on me can be tiring.
But often it takes a stranger to walk into your house, who appreciates what you have, to make you realise the life you have is a blessed one. Even though it’s not always easy, the life Jacob and I have created together is a dream some young people wish to aspire to. That realization brought instant gratitude to my heart. It’s something to treasure and protect.
This week I’m away on holidays and I intend to spend time with my family, hang out at the beach and reflect on what I treasure. I think there are some treasures that need to be released and other parts that need to be treasured more.
I am always encouraged by the scripture in Matthew 6:21 ‘For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’
I don’t want to be obsessed with the temporary, but it’s really hard to do when you’re in a busy season of mothering little kids and being influenced by what is shared on social media.
But God sees my life beyond the Instagram filters and the Facebook highlight reel. He sees the struggles and the mental fight I battle to get through each day. He also reminds me of the fruit. Fruit I often forget each day.
It takes hard work to find valuable treasure. Temporary treasure is easy to find, and in some cases worthless.
If you find yourself obsessing over material or temporary things, maybe your heart is in the wrong place and maybe it needs to seek new treasure?
What do you treasure in life at the moment? Do your kids like to collect plastic toys and call it treasure?
I’m linking up with Essentially Jess for IBOT.
