“Where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.” ~ Matthew 6:19
Jake’s wife Annette returned from
visiting Addy, an elderly friend, carrying a rickety old rocker that looked as
though it needed to be buried in a dumpster. She brought it home hoping he
could fix it. Jake wasn’t much of a handyman but agreed to take a look.
Soon it lay disassembled in the middle of their living room.
The chair’s loose-fitting parts needed way more than TLC - the wood was dry and
cracked, one glider was split down its length, and the back lacked several
spindles. “Why don’t we toss this out and just buy her a new one?” Jake suggested
callously.
Annette reminded him of something they’d heard from the
pulpit a few weeks back – “A Godly heart cares about what others care
about.” Where Jake saw an impossible repair for even a skilled craftsman, her
optimism sparked something that encouraged him to give it a (long) shot.
Regardless of how he viewed the
chair, it was still Addy’s. Replacing it would have shown pride instead of
humility. A proud heart is more concerned with what it thinks is
important. A humble heart is more focused on what’s important to others.
He’d purchase some additional materials to make it safer to
sit on. The cost was easily more than the cost of a new rocking chair. But, his
‘investment’ was not actually in the chair, but rather in Addy. And she was
worth it.
Jake returned the chair to an
astonished old woman whose eyes revealed the joy of greeting an old friend
returning home. She climbed into the rocker and leaned back ever so slightly,
allowing her mind to wander.
“It wasn’t the most elaborate chair ever made, it was quite
plain,” she admitted. “The wood came from old scrap Papa picked up - old homes,
pallets, and even a shipwreck that had drifted ashore. He worked on it every
night for nearly a year with the crudest of hand tools. When finished, it was
the most beautiful piece of furniture we ever owned,” she said.
She continued rocking back and forth, loving memories
resurfacing with each motion.
Friends, a humble heart will
look at an investment beyond what’s visible and tangible for those will
eventually deteriorate and fade away. But what pleases God most are the
intangible acts – ones loving, supporting, and enhancing other people’s lives.
Dear God, thank You for navigating this
journey with me. I anticipate the restoration You’ve already planned out for
me, and I will trust You with everything I go through. You are the God of all
grace, my peace, and my protector. Amen
