“Where your where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21

A while back I had written about my discovery of water coming from the air conditioner in my house. Just for fun we stated collecting it to see just how much it produced. Which is good… because for the last 3 weeks it has been MISERABLY hot, humid and DRY! Using the collected 10 gallons a day, we water our plants and flowers. Along with some other water saving measures, I calculated we saved almost $30 on the water bill too! Not a lot.. but enough for a couple trips to out eat!

Yesterday I went to dump the bucket into the barrel. It’s not a big deal, since it only takes about 20 seconds to do so. Only 5 feet from my goal the old plastic bucket handle broke in my hand and 5 gallons of water dumped all over the ground! I was surprised at my reaction… which was actually shock and sorrow! I had to pause to think about WHY I felt that way! Then this verse hit me.

Living in this great country, water is typically not an issue. When we want it, we turn the faucet handle and ‘voila!’ So losing 5 gallons of water on the ground is NOT significant. The old bucket wasn’t an issue either. I actually had ANOTHER old bucket with a METAL handle that will NOT break. Switching was quick and easy! But I was STILL shocked at my sorrow over the loss of the water! Mostly because it was a silly reaction for me.

Up until now, I had never CARED about what I didn’t KNOW about. My discovery had made sense in many ways and I had created a system. But I hadn’t calculated on bucket failure. The loss of that water actually brought out just how much I had come to care! And silly as water is, this principle of the heart is not silly at all!

I have TOO often discovered how much I care about things AFTER I have lost them. Loved ones who have passed, relationships that are no longer, dreams that are no longer possible, goals that can no longer be reached. ALL of these things carry a hidden treasure that becomes much more evident AFTER the handle of life breaks and they are spilled onto the ground. Which shocks me again as I am drawn to think about it.

If I had only KNOWN how much I had cared or valued. If I had REALIZED how important that thing or person had become, maybe I would have appreciated or cared for them more carefully. It seems to me that THAT is the point Jesus is making in this verse.

NOTHING on this Earth is more precious than Emmanuel… ‘God with us.’ No money, job, position or relationship can even come close to the treasure of Him in my heart, soul and spirit. His presence in me enhances everything else I posses. The spilled bucket helps me to see that taking Him for granted is a loss I cannot afford to chance. It is a truth I can handle!