Storeroom Treasures

He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

Matthew 13:51-53

Old meets new, or old alongside new, or old and new together could have been a title to my week. The chat with my elderly aunt on the phone, who was convalescing from a broken pelvis, was followed up with a text message I sent to her sister, another older aunt, to see how she was doing. These two precious relatives remind me of my mother who is no longer living. A while later I talk to my dad who is remarried, giving me a new status of stepdaughter.

A hankering for an ice cream dessert I learned to make in college, had me buying pistachio pudding and vanilla ice cream. Anyone else remember this 70s recipe? After mixing the dry pudding mix with the softened ice cream and a half a cup of milk, this soft serve consistency is swiggled over ritz cracker crumbs enriched with nuts and butter, then a few reserved crumbs sprinkled over the top. The clerk at Krogers remembered this oldie, but goodie, as we discussed ways to use pistachio pudding.

Kevin and I are still learning new dance steps; had a chance to try them out at our first ball recently. Test driving the Civic I mentioned before in another post, led to a new vehicle occupying our driveway. But another glimpse of life in our house would show us wiping and drying dishes by the kitchen sink while the dishwasher sits idle close by. The 30s something refrigerator hums faithfully from across the room.

My brother came by for a visit last week. I had to make him our favorite childhood meal and we kept true to family tradition by playing a game of Scrabble.  I hauled old heirloom photos out of the storeroom so we could cut up a few poses to glue on a handmade card to send to the invalid aunt. Before you gasp in horror at destroying such old treasures, I will tell you they have been scanned and digitized, making it much easier to store and manage them. However, I have not succumbed to trashing them. They only sit in an upstairs wastebasket waiting for that fateful day when my minimalist resolve will take effect.  The day is hastening closer every time I hear my mother-in-law express anxiety about what to do with her old photos. No offspring want them, they take up space in the villa my parents-in-law have downsized to, and have become a bane to their owner who lacks the energy to tackle organizing them.

The Scrabble game board spreads across the well -worn oak, Daddy-made, dining room table again. This time my son has brought his new girlfriend home for the first time and wants to introduce her to one of the things we do best, fiercely compete to win! He counts on her college English major to qualify her for the brutal combat. Their new love is counted among the recent treasures in the storeroom.

Bible study every week reminds me of the timelessness of God's Word.  As we handle these treasures, inspecting, appraising and touching them with our minds and hearts we marvel at their relevancy to our lives now, today.  Whether the insights we receive are brand new, or gems we're again admiring, the storeroom holds an endless supply of wisdom, righteousness and truth. 

Whether your storeroom has a long history or you've just recently started filling it, let's bring those treasures out and give them away---the stories of God's faithfulness, the answers to prayer, the way his Word accomplishes good in our lives and defeats our enemies, or the wisdom we gain by obeying his Word that makes life enjoyable and rewarding. 

Thank you, Father, for your Word.  What an anchor for our lives! How shallow we are if we're not grounded in its truth! How vulnerable we'd be to the swaying winds of doctrine, or to shifting positions according to popular voices around us. Your mercies are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness!