A Legacy of Empty Boxes - Daily Thoughts about God

by Marilyn Ehle

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Matthew 6:19-20

She had lived a long life and died peacefully. When family came to clear out the house in which she had lived most of her adult years, they were unprepared for what they discovered in the seldom-used attic. In multiple stacks higher than the tallest adult helping in the process were empty boxes. Some were plain cardboard, but most were a variety of gift boxes, all now yellowed with age and some with gifts tags still attached: “To Grandma, from Johnny.” Or “To Mom, with love from Sue.” Some boxes even had edges chewed by hungry mice. As unlikely as it sounds, a pickup truck was filled four times over as it made its way to the city dump.

Always known as a thrifty woman who had lived through difficult economic times in her younger years, the attic accumulation could perhaps be understood as simply a collection of items for “when we might need them.” But for most of her life, she had ample supply of material goods and was even known as one who could be called upon to help others.

And so her family found the empty boxes a sad legacy. Instead of telling stories about the woman’s smile or her love for God and others, the predominant topic of conversation when the family gathered was about the empty boxes. Because of their love for her, they didn’t laugh at her unusual propensity for this evidence of frugality, but their conversation was tinged with sadness. Sentences tapered off with a kind of melancholy.

What will be the conversation about us when family gathers after we are gone? Are we collecting a variety of empty boxes, void of meaning and useless in the future? Or are we “storing up treasures in heaven” in the form of people who have heard of Jesus through our personal witness, our fervent praying, the giving of our time and money?

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