Lani's Blog

Most Prized Possession

December 01, 2012: What is your most prized possession?





The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl





44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.





45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.


Matthew 13:44-46 (NIV)





These two parables have always puzzled me. No, I get the meaning: anything worth having is worth the sacrifice, like heaven, salvation and spiritual peace. The thing that bugged me as a child was now what. The man with the field and treasure has sold everything. He will eventually have to sell some treasure to build a house or work the field. And the merchant, he only has one pearl. He’s going to have to sell it to live if he truly sold everything. Such are the workings of the mind of child and even now I wonder about the rest of the story.





As for me, I am having trouble answering the question. Is a prized possession a costly possession or a well-loved item? Or both?





I have a ring my husband gave me. It is a beautiful pearl with diamonds that I had asked for on one of his first overseas trips.  He gave it to me with much ceremony. I wore it, showed it off and then one day saw the pearl had dropped out. I felt terrible and my husband replaced it with a caveat. The pearl was much more expensive than I ever dreamed and if l lost it again it would not be replaced. So it sits in a box in a safe giving joy to no one. My engagement ring is the same. A delicate white diamond that is too precious to wear so in the safe it sits.





My wedding band is another story. It is white gold almost too big for my finger and gets banged regularly. Because it is plain, I can wear it at work. I love it because it means I belong to someone. Someone cares if I call, come home at night or take all the covers from the bed. The wedding band doesn’t look like much but I love it. I guess it is my most prized possession along with the heart that gave it to me.








Lani