A Material Tragedy

I'd always wanted some nice diamond earrings.  I had never had any.  The ones I had once had were teeny tiny, like little pin heads.  I think those are still somewhere, but not sure where.  Well, a couple of years ago some very nice ones were given to me.  The shape was square and the gold was white.  I loved them.  Almost every day since I got them, literally.  I wore the a couple of days ago.  When I took them off I was not at home.  When I am not at home, I usually try to fasten them through a link in a necklace or bracelet so they are not just loose on top of something.  I did not have a bowl or basket to put them in like I do at home.  Sometimes when I am away I look for something like that to put them in for security, but this time I did not.  Next morning, I decided to wear pearls, so I put those on.  They were still in the little jewelry travel pouch.  I picked up the bracelet and put it on, not remembering the diamonds.  I went about my way, packing my car, rough housing, carrying and playing with my grandson, etc.  Later at lunch I looked at my wrist and saw one of the diamond earrings in the link of the bracelet.  My heart went up into my throat.  My head went down into my hand.  As I took the bracelet off to look for the other one I already knew it would not be there.  It was not.  It was gone.  I was literally sick.  I could not speak.  I could not move.  I just looked at the bracelet.  I was so so sad.  I just happened to be with the person who gave the earrings to me.  When I explained what happened, he said "that's easy, those are replaceable".  Although I was grateful to hear that, I was still very sad that something that meant something to me was gone.  However, like I have learned so much in the last few years, there are things that are replaceable and things that are not.  There are things that are materially valuable and things that are emotionally valuable.  Things that are just truly, well things.  It's what's connected to those things that counts, the memories, the good feelings, the thoughtfulness, the emotion, the things that you can't lose, that can't be taken away, that can't be lost.  So while I am very sad that this earring is gone, it's the thought about how they were given and who they were given by that I will hang onto.  It's not the value so much in the earring, but in the statement when it was given and now, just now, when it was lost.  So when you are looking for the value of something, look deeper than the cost.  Look into your heart.  And to look even deeper, if I had to lose it due to some carelessness on my part, I cannot think of a better way or place than while spending time with my grandson.  He, and my time with him, is priceless.

Encourage One Another