Treasures

I'm a collector.  I love things:  pretty things, old things, helpful things, memorable things.  I have a lot of stuff, and I love it all.  One of my favorite things is a little, plastic, star-shaped container filled with colorful sand.  It sits in my kitchen window and has been in my possession for roughly 4 years.  In each of the four homes we've lived in during that time period it has been on display in my kitchen.  To anyone else it would not be worth a penny, but to me it is priceless; it's a memory.  It represents something to me;  it reminds me of the first time I took Samuel and Micah somewhere alone.  It may sound silly to some of you, but when you're a single mom the majority of the time (mainly when your husband is on sea duty) it takes courage to pack the kids up and head out  to do something fun.  Samuel was 2 1/2 and Micah was around 6 months old, I had gone to the grocery store and done things I had to do, but this trip was for fun and with a baby that screamed most of the time, fun was hard to come by.  I did it though;  I strapped Micah in the stroller, took Samuel by the hand and we went to a neighborhood block party of sorts.  Samuel filled that star with sand and to this day it represents courage to me. You see, at that point in my life it took a ton of courage to get me to do something like that...alone, not knowing anyone there.  Sam had fun that day, and that fact alone was worth all the anxiousness fluttering inside of me; it took strength and courage for me to walk through the crowd with Micah screaming the whole way.  That star is one of the treasures that I hold dear; when I get anxious about lugging my three boys somewhere, and when I think about having to chase Jude all over the place, I remember that day and I ask God for the courage and strength to see me through. 
We have quite a few treasures throughout our house, just like my star, that help me to recall specific times in my life;  I also have quite a few treasures in my heart that do the same.  Psalm 119:11 says, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."  I love the picture of "hiding" something in my heart.  It's like a secret treasure that I can take out and look at whenever I need comfort.  Throughout my bible I have dates and names next to verses to remind me of times when someone has impacted my life with them, or when I've shared them with someone else, or when God has just hit me over the head with one of His truths and opened my eyes to something new.  These treasures are of more worth then my earthly treasures;  I love my star and all of the other things in my home, but my house could burn down someday, or the movers could lose a box or two (it's been known to happen!) and my things would be gone...but the treasures in my heart, no one can take away.  I praise God that while the things of earth are temporary, He is eternal. 
What do you treasure?