The best THINGS in life . . .

. . . end up destroyed just like everything else.

When we had our kitchen fire, I failed to mention a certain irony: the kitchen area that burned was the very nicest part of our house. When we bought this house almost three years ago, Keith totally remodeled the kitchen before (and as) we moved in. The rest of the house has been painted and decorated, but certainly not overhauled like the kitchen was in 2007. But fire doesn't know and doesn't care, so it burned our new drywall, tile, cabinets and stove, leaving our ancient refrigerator untouched.

Yesterday just before suppertime, the kids and I were rear-ended while driving home from swimming lessons. Someone stopped in the middle of a busy road (I don't know why), so the car in front of me also had to stop as did I. The person driving an Escalade behind me didn't stop. He plowed into the back of our God-given-with-heated-seats Toyota Sienna minivan, mashing the back door in and propelling me into the car in front of me (who hit the person in front of her!). We are all fine, though I did end up going to the ER to get my neck checked. Of course, our other, older-and-lesser vehicles are fine.

You know what my primary thought has been (besides gratefulness for our safety)? I'm just so glad that our STUFF isn't really that nice! Because it's all going to be destroyed sooner or later and I'd rather not have any major investment in things that won't last! An inexpensive vehicle that goes, an inexpensive house that keeps me warm and thrift store clothes so I don't have to cry when the baby ruins my blouse.

I've been reading this book and doing lots of pondering. I want my treasure to truly be in heaven, because as a house fire and an accident have confirmed, even the nicest things of this life get ruined rather easily! But HOW to have treasure in heaven? I'm beginning to realize that it really has a lot to do with how we spend our money on earth. Our hearts are drawn to what we have invested in - God designed it to be that way!

Wanna know what I got for Christmas? Just what I asked for: a sponsored child. I'm praying for a little girl in India named Ruma and I'm praying that as our money goes to support her each month, our hearts will be transformed. You too?