Where Your Treasure Is
On a hot, July summer day in 2021, a man discovered some 158 bowling balls in his backyard during an outdoor renovation. It was during the demolition, around the back steps of his house, that Olson discovered a black sphere buried in the sand behind some cinder blocks.
"That was one of the bowling balls," he said. "I didn't think a whole lot of it. I was kind of assuming maybe there were just a couple in there just to fill in. The deeper I got into it, the more I realized it was just basically an entire gridwork of them making up the weight in there."
As Olson continued digging, he uncovered ball after ball. It finally clicked how this treasure of rusted, cracked, dirty balls got there. There used to be a bowling ball manufacturing plant nearby in Muskegon, Michigan.
The balls were from the 1950s, which meant they were 80 years old. Although useless as bowling balls, they still had value to some. Olson plans to use the balls as edging for his landscaping or to make sculptures. He has also donated eight balls for use by a church in a bowling ball cannon at a pig roast. His stepfather also plans to use them as custom furniture legs.
In this story, it was the heart of the recipient that determined the value of the treasure. One saw edging for their landscaping, another a bowling ball cannon, and yet another, legs for their furniture. The point is the real value isn't in the treasure we unearth but in how we use it.
Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21).
Remembered
The New York Times carried an obituary of Victor Dorman. It read, "Victor Dorman, who helped change the way Americans buy cheese by putting the paper between the slices, as chairman of the Dorman Cheese Company, died on March 4th, at his home in Delray Beach, Fla. He was 80."
Dorman actually graduated from a prestigious college and fought in WWII. He lived an impressive and successful life. But in the end, it was one quirky little thing that left a lasting impact.
Pay attention to all of the details of your life. The things that you do, big and small, can leave a lasting impact.
"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:10).
When Are You Going To Die?
Richard Carlson, Ph.D., was an author, psychotherapist, and motivational speaker, who became famous with the success of his book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff... and it’s all Small Stuff (1997). The book became one of the fastest-selling books of all time. It is divided into 100 brief chapters. The last chapter is entitled, “Live This Day as if It Were Your Last. It May Be.” Carlson lived his last day on December 13, 2006. He died of a pulmonary embolism during a flight from San Francisco to New York, leaving his wife and two teenage daughters.
Carlson said that he ended his book with this chapter as a reminder of how precious life and loved ones are. He wrote: “I often wonder, when listening to the news, did the person who died in the auto accident on his way home from work remember to tell his family how much he loved them?” Carlson started the 100th chapter asking, “When are you going to die? In fifty years, twenty, ten, five, today? Last time I checked, no one had told me.”
He died suddenly and unexpectedly nine years later at the age of 45.
"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12).