Treasures on Earth

ByDeborah Raney
14 Comments

We made a stop in Kansas at the end of our month-long trip earlier in March, and while there, we were going through some treasures at my dad’s house. As he often does, Daddy read from a devotional while we were all gathered that morning, and the theme of this particular reading was storing up treasures in heaven, not here on earth. I understand that concept very well, but I also do have some temporary treasures that I sure am enjoying here on earth.

I ended up bringing a few of those treasures home, including one of Daddy’s cowboy hats. (The poor guy was left hatless after his daughters each grabbed one! Just kidding…he has an ample supply of hats!)

One treasure I brought home is especially dear to me. Daddy moved to his farmhouse in the beautiful Flint Hills of Kansas shortly after my mom died, and this beautiful framed map of the Kansas Flint Hills has hung in his guest room for most of those years. Whenever we’ve stayed with him, I’ve studied and admired the map.

I love the way the map looks in our entryway in Missouri, and it’s a wonderful reminder of my dad’s beloved Kansas Flint Hills.

My dad bought this map in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas at the abstract office that was printing the maps and distributing to schools. He saved a newspaper clipping telling that this map was placed in 180 schools and colleges in the Flint Hills region around 2016.

Here’s the fun part: When he got ready to frame the map, the backing came from my coffee cubbies!

I “pretended” to help my dad, but the truth is, he did all the work. He was 86 at the time, and I remember being so impressed with how strong he still was! (That piece is heavy!)

In August 2017 I emptied all the mugs out of the cubbies and took the piece to my dad. I asked him to take off the back and add a wire screen across the back so I could add twinkle lights. I didn’t have any use for the backing board (leaning on the woodworking table behind my dad in the photo above) so Daddy tucked it away in his workshop. It turned out to be a perfect fit for the Flint Hills Map!

This was the finished, empty coffee cubby (back when I was using it turned the tall way). After we moved to Missouri, I turned the cubbies the “right” wide way. You might remember that I bought this piece at an antique store. It was originally the in-office mailbox for a small-town Kansas bank.

So the cubbies and the backing board are together again now in Missouri—just in a little different form. And I love that so much! Yes, I understand that, ultimately, “it’s all gonna burn” as the saying goes, but as long as God gives me breath on this side of heaven, I’m going to enjoy these earthly treasures to the fullest—and more importantly the memories they evoke—even as I look forward with great joy to the treasures stored up in heaven!

Daddy and me in those beautiful Kansas Flint Hills ten years ago. I hope heaven will look a little bit like this.

Is there a special earthly treasure that you are enjoying even as you store up true treasures in heaven? 🙂

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DEBORAH RANEY's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title and launched Deb’s writing career. Forty books later, she's still creating stories that touch hearts and lives. Her novels have won RWA's RITA Award, the ACFW Carol Award, the National Readers Choice Award, and the HOLT Medallion. She is also a four-time Christy Award finalist. Deb is on faculty for several national writers’ conferences and served on the executive board of the 2,500-member American Christian Fiction Writers organization for 18 years before retiring in 2022. She is a recent transplant to Missouri, having moved with her husband, Ken Raney, from their native Kansas to be closer to kids and grandkids. They love road trips, e-biking, Friday garage sale dates, and breakfast on the screened porch overlooking their wooded backyard.

14 Comments

  2. I love this post, Deb. As I get older less and less “stuff” makes the keep-this-around list. My mom’s wedding band, which she gave me on my 21st birthday. (My dad had died a few years earlier.) I’ve rarely taken it off since. Memories are more precious than things.

  4. I can sense so much the love and admiration you have for your dad! I too am blessed to have had a gentle and handy dad. A real gift from God!
    And your coffee cubbies always look great!

  5. I have quite a few family treasures I cherish: quilts made by both of my grandmothers, a large portrait of my paternal grandmother when she was maybe about a year old (she was born in 1883), her 1914 wedding dress and other clothes from that period, and her hats from the 1950’s and 60’s. There are also various other things that have been handed down in the family.

    1. Those sound like wonderful treasures, Pam! Especially the quilts. My mom was a quilter so I know the time and effort and love that goes into them!

  6. What special treasures you have! Two things come to mind as I read your post…my uncle was big into genealogy and printed a 5-6 foot family tree dating back to the 1500s. I had my copy framed and it’s been in my front entryway for years. I love it. Second, two pieces of furniture: a foot stool that belonged to my great grandmother and a child’s rocking chair that belonged to my dad.

  7. Deb, those treasures from our parents are priceless. My current favorite is a journal I gave my Mom years ago titled, Reflections from a Mother’s Heart. There is a question on each page for her to answer to describe her life from childhood to present day – some humorous, some serious. Reading it as she was in the hospice bed showed me parts of her I never knew before then. I only wish I had read it while we could still talk and share those memories in person. Still, it brings her closer and deepens our relationship even now.

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