What is a treasure?

A treasure is something of importance to one or a thing of great value. Everyone has something that is dear to one’s heart.

The old cliché says that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure; yet it can also read that one man’s treasure would be another man’s junk.

I have many treasures tucked away in the various rooms of my home. In front of my den fireplace, is a cow bell and an antique iron.

The cow bell was worn by my grandfather’s ‘leader of the pack’, or should I say ‘herd’, bell cow. The bell cow was the lead cow, and the other animals followed the sound of the tinkling bell as they roamed in a parish with no stock law. The bell cow would invariably keep the herd together.

I would visit my grandparents’ farm when I was a young city girl and the sound of the tinkling bell warned me that a cow was near. I remember several near fatal escapes from being attacked by a herd of cattle. The tinkling of the bell delivered me from my imagined fate every time.

The cow bell definitely has a place of honor in my home because it saved my life at that time, or so I thought.

The iron was my great-grandmother’s and was also used by my grandmother. Today, it could be used to defend oneself if needed. It is solid and heavy; a treasure from my family’s past generations.

Above my desk is a butter churn. The handle and the paddles sit there at rest, no longer having to work. It is now a treasure, a conversation piece and something to dust.

The days of making homemade butter is almost nonexistent, yet the churn is a family heirloom, a reminder of days gone by, and a link to a family member that is no longer here.

Someone may walk in my home and say, “What are you doing with all of this junk? How does it even fit in with your home décor?” Yet in my eyes it is a treasured keepsake.

I have a recipe book published in 1948, that my grandmother used.

A sample recipe is Chicken Gumbo Soup. The recipe is written exactly as follows: Joint a young chicken and brown in equal parts of lard and butter; simmer in 2 quarts water until tender.

Remove all bones, cut meat in smaller pieces and return to broth after skimming off grease. Add one cup of okra (sliced, floured and fried), two chopped onions, two to six sliced medium tomatoes, one cup diced celery.

Season with salt, pepper and a little sugar. Cook slowly for 30 minutes; add two cups milk or cream in which one tablespoon cornstarch has been smoothly mixed. Bring just to scalding point. Remove and serve.

Amount: about 10 cups.

Ox-Tail Soup is also a recipe and instructs one to clean and cut one ox-tail into joints. The cookbook is a treasure yet the recipes would not suit my palate.

I also have a library book published in 1901, which has Aimwell School written in it.

‘Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch’ is displayed in a wicker basket. I did not know there ever was a school there, which proves how old it is. My mother was born in Aimwell, La. and she did not even go to school there.

Treasures, all of these are treasures; it is a nostalgic touch of one’s family’s past. It is comforting to one to have a touch of the past in one’s presence.

Matthew 6:19-21 reads, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Although I have many treasures in my home, my main focus must be to lay up treasures in heaven for myself. My past deeds will be a comfort to me when I cross over to the other side.

Where my treasure is, on earth or in heaven, there will my heart be. The heart follows the treasure.

Our treasures are our devotions, giving, obedience and sacrifices, which are not done to be seen of men.

We are laying up treasures in heaven because a book of remembrance is being recorded and a reward will be waiting.

We prize our earthly treasures, but we must take the time to work toward our heavenly treasures because the benefits of doing so are out of this world!