The Photo Story continues...
DAY SEVEN: a picture of my most treasured item
My most treasured item?? Should that take a lot of thought? Or is this one of those questions we should know without hesitation? Perhaps it depends on our frame of mind, or better yet, our frame of heart!So let's see: My house?... since it's where I share so many memories with my family! My car?... because it's nearly paid off and it gets me where I need to go! My wedding ring?... Because it symbolizes a precious relationship and unity I share with my husband! My laptop?... Because it helps me keep in touch, share thoughts, and store momentous photos! My bed?... Because you just haven't slept until you've crashed into our California king!
Oh my, how insignificant all that is without God's word! After all... a house can be rebuilt if destroyed with new memories made (we're in that process now!), a car can be replaced if crashed (ours was!), countless stores sell wedding bands to replace one that's lost (I've been through it and although a very emotional moment, amazingly my husband and I moved on and the marriage wasn't effected!), laptops are a man-made object that may store things, but have limited memory that isn't guaranteed to withstand a storm (again, been there done that... laptops get fried in a lightning storm!), and beds wear out and damage regardless of comfort (we've been through a couple!).
So what withstands all? What is worth treasuring that can not be undone, replaced, destroyed, can withstand any storm, and may physically wear out but the value never decreases? My most treasured item holds all those traits and then some... it's my own personal copy of the Word of God.
Mike gave me this bible back on our first wedding anniversary. He has one exactly like it that I gave him the same day. We were so happy with them... the lovely scent of the black leather, the pretty gold embossed writing with our names personalized on the cover, and brand new pages untouched and ready for notes and bookmarks that could be personalized to our liking.The cover is now worn and ragged. I keep a bible case over it to prevent the poor leather cover from becoming any more tattered than it already is. But what's amazing, is the value, the message, the purpose, the foundation, the meaning, and the gift it holds within is unchanged, unfaltering, and stands as strong as the day it was originally written thousands of years before my existence.
As I flip through my bible, there are notes, bookmarks, writing, highlights, arrows, and circled notations that now decorate the pages. It amazes me at regardless of how many times I turn the pages and read through His word, there is always something new to learn, nuggets to be discovered, and lessons to apply.
This indeed is my most treasured item.
Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
(Deuteronomy 11:18)
