Where is My Heart???

Today’s Verse of the Day (to the right of this post) is from Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I read this verse earlier this morning, and am very familiar with it. Little did I know when I read it in my early morning hours that I would get reminder from God about that truth just a few hours later!

At 10:06, a very tired and weary-looking woman walked into the orthodontist office with whom I assumed to be her daughter. Their resemblance of each other gave me that clue. I noticed how exhausted this mom looked, in her black leather jacket, worn and faded jeans and tennis shoes. She plopped down in a chair near me, and I went back to reading my BSF notes and enjoying my cup of coffee.

I looked up at her once, and found her eyes were locked on me. I smiled, and she made some small talk about the snow-covered roads this morning. She picked up the local newspaper, read the headline and said something I couldn’t understand. I told her I didn’t quite catch what she had said, and she said a little louder…”It says here homeslessness is growing here…that’s no surprise since the flood.” I agreed with her, and noticed a familiar sight on the front page of the newspaper…the inside of Mission of Hope.

I put down my notes and tried to tell her with my eyes that I was willing to listen if she wanted to talk. The woman continued to tell me she was a victim of the June flood, she lost her home and everything in it (it had four feet of water in it on the main level), but was thankful that she was able to rent another home elsewhere in the community. She talked about missing her belongings, and how she and her seventeen year old daughter had to basically start their lives from scratch. But she was thankful they had each other. She works construction and is currently laid off, and is living off of unemployment. Her cell phone rang, she excused herself and walked outside the office. We weren’t able to finish our conversation before her daughter was done with her appointment and they left the building.

Her story touched my heart, and it brought to mind today’s Verse of the Day. Why do we store up for ourselves treasures on this earth, when in a matter of hours, it can all be washed away in floodwaters (like this woman’s home), or destroyed by something else, or even worse, stolen by theives? Sure, it’s nice to have nice things, but if we put all of our focus on the earthly stuff, when it’s destroyed, we are devastated. This woman had hope, because I could see her hope was not in her “stuff.”

God reminded me today of where I need to keep my treasure…”For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The Message translation reads, “It’s obvious isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.” If my treasure is on earth, my heart is there, and that’s where I will most want to be. If my treasure is in heaven, my heart is there, and that’s where I will most want to be. So, where is my heart today? God helped me for one more day keep me focused on where it needs to be.

I prayed for that woman. I prayed that God would give her all she needs and that He would bless her with His presence in her life. I also prayed she would pick up that newspaper again sometime today, and would see Mission of Hope on the front page. I prayed that God might lead her there to get some help and encouagement during this trying time in her life.

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”