My Valentines from first grade showed up at Mother’s home a few years ago. What a treat! Names I hadn’t thought of in 30 years showed up wishing me Happy Valentine’s Day. Be Mine. U R sweet. With love. Best friends.
In 1999, Mother’s home was flooded with 3 feet of water, the third time since she has lived there. The first two times, in the 1960s, were disastrous, but this time was a blessing in disguise. Mother never throws much of anything away, so as we started going through the wet things in her home, we ran across items that would normally have been discarded.
Most people of our generation only get to go through their parent’s home after a death or a move to the nursing home, so we felt privileged to be able to do it with Mother still alive. (She will be 95 later this month.) We made a party out of it. We could laugh and cry over things we found; some could be salvaged, some could not, so the things we had to throw away we treasured for that moment, then tossed in the trash.
We discovered that the valuable items were not hurt by the flood. Letters from my daddy when he was away in World War II dried out nicely. Most photos were not ruined by water; they were separated and allowed to dry naturally. The edges curled, but the images were fine. The old solid-wood furniture wasn’t damaged; the cheap pressed wood stuff fell apart. The stuffed furniture and bedding had to be replaced, but most appliances dried out and worked fine.
During that time we discovered just where our priorities were. Mother was fine, after being taken out of her home by two nephews walking a rowboat through her yard up to her doorstep. Even if she had lost everything, we have her and that is all that matters.
You cannot take your first-grade Valentine cards to heaven with you. Your pictures, your antique furniture, your knick-knacks and fine china will pass to someone else. Your money will be left behind.
“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” I Cor. 13:13
What can you take to heaven with you? Only the ones you love.