The Treasure
Stories
Lightly Goes the Good News
Scripture Stories For Reflection
He was ecstatic! Had this happened to him? Maybe he was dreaming. But no. There was the gem box, corroded with rust, but still intact after having been buried for years in the rich soil. And the jewels in the box sparkled in the noonday sun: sapphires, rubies, diamonds, and other gems he couldn't even identify. Lester bit his lip so he wouldn't cry out for joy over his new-found discovery and arouse the suspicion of the others working in the field. Silently reviewing how he had come upon the treasure, he focused his attention on the opening in the ground. Lester had intended to drive long wooden stakes into the earth in order to establish boundaries marking off his rented portion of land from the others. What he could never have imagined was striking the metallic surface of the box with his shovel only minutes after he had begun digging.
"I'm a wealthy man! I'll never have to work again," he thought. "But I've got to calm down. The others must not see me walking off the property with this box." Lester knew that the gem box legally belonged to the landowner and there was only one way to claim the box as his own. "I'll buy the field. Yes, I'll buy the field and the box will be mine. It'll be costly. But these gems are worth fifty times the land." Addressing the box he whispered, "I'll have to bury you for a while, but I'll be back." Then he carefully replaced the box and covered it over with dirt. "And I'll draw a circle around you so I know where to find you," he confided as he traced a circle in the soil directly above the buried box. "There!" Rising to his feet, he gleefully rubbed his hands together and thought, "Wait until I tell Wanda and the kids about this!"
Lester bolted for home and on his way almost knocked over two friends.
"Les, what's the hurry?"
"Sorry, can't talk now! I've got business to take care of."
His friends looked puzzled. "That's not like Les. He's always got time to stop and talk."
But there was no stopping Lester today. Once home he announced, "We're moving out of the house. We've got to sell it!"
"What?" Wanda exclaimed.
"No time for explanations. Get the pup tent out of the garage. That'll be our home."
"But, but...."
"Just for a while," he reassured her, "a couple of days. Then we'll buy a house ten times as big as this one. See you later," he added as he left his shocked wife and hurried to the realtor.
On the way Lester came across two more of his friends, drinking buddies from the local pub.
"Hi, Les. You going to join us today?" one of them asked. "I...."
"Sorry," Les interrupted. "I've got more serious things to do now. Maybe some other time. Bye now!" And off he went.
"Les doesn't have time for a beer! That's surprising. He's always one for sitting around and having a good laugh," the friend commented.
"Yeah!" the other added. "Les is always telling us life is too short to be racing around without enjoying it." Then both of them looked on in silence as Lester disappeared down the street.
It took only two days for Lester to sell his house, get his life savings out of the bank, and purchase the land he wanted so desperately. "It's mine. The land is mine," he sighed as he kissed the deed to the land. "Now I'll get the gem box!" Lester high-tailed it to the field even though a torrential rainstorm had begun the moment he had the deed in hand. Shrugging his shoulders he muttered as he challenged the heavens, "No matter. No rainstorm can stop me." Or so he thought.
The heavy downpour coupled with strong winds had altered the landscape of the field. All of the stakes which had previously demarcated the plots were now strewn over the entire field. Arriving there, Lester was horrified. "The circle, the circle, where's the circle?" he panicked. Totally disoriented, he ran in every direction looking for the circle which had long since been washed away. "Where is it? Where is it?" he moaned. Falling on his knees, he vowed, "I'll find you. A little digging will do it. You'll see!" A little digging?
Shovel in hand, Lester attacked the earth at a point he hoped the treasure lay. But by evening he hadn't found the box. Exhausted, he leaned on his shovel and promised, "Tomorrow I'll be back with my family."
At the crack of dawn Lester, Wanda, and the kids straggled half-asleep onto the field. And they had brought with them their pup tent, food supplies, and shiny new tools. Lifting his shovel high, Lester gave the order. "Dig in! It won't take long to find the treasure but we can't fool around or laugh," he warned.
"But, Dad," one of the kids objected, "you're always telling us life is no fun if we don't have time to laugh."
"Yeah," Wanda chimed in. "He's right. Besides, do you see anyone laughing? Could anybody living in a pup tent laugh?" she cracked.
Lester waved away their questions. "Okay, okay, let's get busy!" While Lester dug enthusiastically, the others poked around half-heartedly with their shovels.
Occasionally during the day a friend or acquaintance would drop by and try to strike up a conversation with Les or Wanda or the kids. Les would raise a hand and say, "No time for small talk. Gotta keep digging." By the end of the day, they still hadn't found the box. "Well, we'll find it tomorrow," he told the tired family as they piled into their pup tent for the night.
And he told them the same thing each evening for the following two weeks as they dug and dug and dug without finding the treasure. More friends, neighbors, and relatives dropped by: sometimes to talk about the weather; sometimes to ask for advice; often to avoid being lonely. They had come to Les because in the past he had always been around to listen. But now he gave the same message to each and every person. "Can't talk! Got lotsa digging to do!" And gradually the number of visitors dwindled. Les had no time for what he considered idle chatter. "We've got to get that treasure. That's what counts. We don't have time for fooling around," he preached daily to his family as they dug and piled dirt upon dirt making small hills over the entire field.
On the morning of the third week Lester announced a new plan. "We're going to sift through all the dirt we've dug. We might have missed something."
"We might have missed something," the kids groaned. Les hadn't expected the strong reaction.
"Why, yes," he said softly.
"I'll tell you what we've missed," Wanda cried. Seizing her shovel, she hurled it as far as she could. Then she took off her shoes and socks, danced up and down the nearest hill, and then continued to do the same on the other hills.
"Yay! Yay! Yay! Go to it, Mom!" the kids chanted. Taking their cue from her, they too threw off their shoes and socks and ran in every direction onto different mounds of dirt. Sliding, tumbling, jumping, and laughing, within seconds the kids had magically transformed the morbid field into a joyous playground.
Lester was dumbfounded. He hadn't seen his children acting like children for such a long time that he didn't know what to make of it. Nor had he ever seen Wanda so carefree. His initial reaction was to order them all back to work. However he momentarily forgot himself and chuckled as he watched his wife pirouetting on a mound. He had never seen her so lovely as the sun played on her face. Before he knew it, he too had taken off his shoes and socks and was charging up a hill. "Anyone want to play King of the Hill?" he laughed. The last time he had been this happy was the day he had found the gem box hidden in that field. "The treasure," he thought. "I had forgotten about the treasure!" Then he giggled, wept, and did a jig on top the hill. "Who cares about the buried treasure! Who needs it!" Lester had found his treasure on the field!
Reflection
Where is our treasure? What are we looking for? How many miles are we willing to travel or how much time and money are we willing to spend to get what we want? And once we get what we want, will we really be satisfied? More importantly, what will we have neglected and sacrificed in our single-minded quest for our treasure?
Consider the following. A man decides to take a trip to a beautiful park that he has never seen. His map tells him that the park is fifty miles away. He must look for a sign that says, "The beginning of the park." He drives and drives, looking intently for the sign. There are beautiful trees, streams, and flowers all along the way, but he is so preoccupied in his search for the sign that he has no time for scenery. At long last he reaches a sign and it reads, "This is the end of the park. We hope you have enjoyed your visit." So intent was he on getting to the park that he didn't notice he had already been there!
We go through life looking for the treasures and we miss the treasures all along the way. We are always looking forward to some magical moment when we will find our treasure, e.g., graduation, marriage, the birth of a child, a raise in pay, etc. But our disregard or our blindness to the present moment prevents us from recognizing that the treasure is here in one another and in the events which make up our day to day living. The light is already shining in the present moment. What we need to do is open our eyes and hearts to its presence. To see the light shining now is already to have come out from under the basket.
Do we see it?
"I'm a wealthy man! I'll never have to work again," he thought. "But I've got to calm down. The others must not see me walking off the property with this box." Lester knew that the gem box legally belonged to the landowner and there was only one way to claim the box as his own. "I'll buy the field. Yes, I'll buy the field and the box will be mine. It'll be costly. But these gems are worth fifty times the land." Addressing the box he whispered, "I'll have to bury you for a while, but I'll be back." Then he carefully replaced the box and covered it over with dirt. "And I'll draw a circle around you so I know where to find you," he confided as he traced a circle in the soil directly above the buried box. "There!" Rising to his feet, he gleefully rubbed his hands together and thought, "Wait until I tell Wanda and the kids about this!"
Lester bolted for home and on his way almost knocked over two friends.
"Les, what's the hurry?"
"Sorry, can't talk now! I've got business to take care of."
His friends looked puzzled. "That's not like Les. He's always got time to stop and talk."
But there was no stopping Lester today. Once home he announced, "We're moving out of the house. We've got to sell it!"
"What?" Wanda exclaimed.
"No time for explanations. Get the pup tent out of the garage. That'll be our home."
"But, but...."
"Just for a while," he reassured her, "a couple of days. Then we'll buy a house ten times as big as this one. See you later," he added as he left his shocked wife and hurried to the realtor.
On the way Lester came across two more of his friends, drinking buddies from the local pub.
"Hi, Les. You going to join us today?" one of them asked. "I...."
"Sorry," Les interrupted. "I've got more serious things to do now. Maybe some other time. Bye now!" And off he went.
"Les doesn't have time for a beer! That's surprising. He's always one for sitting around and having a good laugh," the friend commented.
"Yeah!" the other added. "Les is always telling us life is too short to be racing around without enjoying it." Then both of them looked on in silence as Lester disappeared down the street.
It took only two days for Lester to sell his house, get his life savings out of the bank, and purchase the land he wanted so desperately. "It's mine. The land is mine," he sighed as he kissed the deed to the land. "Now I'll get the gem box!" Lester high-tailed it to the field even though a torrential rainstorm had begun the moment he had the deed in hand. Shrugging his shoulders he muttered as he challenged the heavens, "No matter. No rainstorm can stop me." Or so he thought.
The heavy downpour coupled with strong winds had altered the landscape of the field. All of the stakes which had previously demarcated the plots were now strewn over the entire field. Arriving there, Lester was horrified. "The circle, the circle, where's the circle?" he panicked. Totally disoriented, he ran in every direction looking for the circle which had long since been washed away. "Where is it? Where is it?" he moaned. Falling on his knees, he vowed, "I'll find you. A little digging will do it. You'll see!" A little digging?
Shovel in hand, Lester attacked the earth at a point he hoped the treasure lay. But by evening he hadn't found the box. Exhausted, he leaned on his shovel and promised, "Tomorrow I'll be back with my family."
At the crack of dawn Lester, Wanda, and the kids straggled half-asleep onto the field. And they had brought with them their pup tent, food supplies, and shiny new tools. Lifting his shovel high, Lester gave the order. "Dig in! It won't take long to find the treasure but we can't fool around or laugh," he warned.
"But, Dad," one of the kids objected, "you're always telling us life is no fun if we don't have time to laugh."
"Yeah," Wanda chimed in. "He's right. Besides, do you see anyone laughing? Could anybody living in a pup tent laugh?" she cracked.
Lester waved away their questions. "Okay, okay, let's get busy!" While Lester dug enthusiastically, the others poked around half-heartedly with their shovels.
Occasionally during the day a friend or acquaintance would drop by and try to strike up a conversation with Les or Wanda or the kids. Les would raise a hand and say, "No time for small talk. Gotta keep digging." By the end of the day, they still hadn't found the box. "Well, we'll find it tomorrow," he told the tired family as they piled into their pup tent for the night.
And he told them the same thing each evening for the following two weeks as they dug and dug and dug without finding the treasure. More friends, neighbors, and relatives dropped by: sometimes to talk about the weather; sometimes to ask for advice; often to avoid being lonely. They had come to Les because in the past he had always been around to listen. But now he gave the same message to each and every person. "Can't talk! Got lotsa digging to do!" And gradually the number of visitors dwindled. Les had no time for what he considered idle chatter. "We've got to get that treasure. That's what counts. We don't have time for fooling around," he preached daily to his family as they dug and piled dirt upon dirt making small hills over the entire field.
On the morning of the third week Lester announced a new plan. "We're going to sift through all the dirt we've dug. We might have missed something."
"We might have missed something," the kids groaned. Les hadn't expected the strong reaction.
"Why, yes," he said softly.
"I'll tell you what we've missed," Wanda cried. Seizing her shovel, she hurled it as far as she could. Then she took off her shoes and socks, danced up and down the nearest hill, and then continued to do the same on the other hills.
"Yay! Yay! Yay! Go to it, Mom!" the kids chanted. Taking their cue from her, they too threw off their shoes and socks and ran in every direction onto different mounds of dirt. Sliding, tumbling, jumping, and laughing, within seconds the kids had magically transformed the morbid field into a joyous playground.
Lester was dumbfounded. He hadn't seen his children acting like children for such a long time that he didn't know what to make of it. Nor had he ever seen Wanda so carefree. His initial reaction was to order them all back to work. However he momentarily forgot himself and chuckled as he watched his wife pirouetting on a mound. He had never seen her so lovely as the sun played on her face. Before he knew it, he too had taken off his shoes and socks and was charging up a hill. "Anyone want to play King of the Hill?" he laughed. The last time he had been this happy was the day he had found the gem box hidden in that field. "The treasure," he thought. "I had forgotten about the treasure!" Then he giggled, wept, and did a jig on top the hill. "Who cares about the buried treasure! Who needs it!" Lester had found his treasure on the field!
Reflection
Where is our treasure? What are we looking for? How many miles are we willing to travel or how much time and money are we willing to spend to get what we want? And once we get what we want, will we really be satisfied? More importantly, what will we have neglected and sacrificed in our single-minded quest for our treasure?
Consider the following. A man decides to take a trip to a beautiful park that he has never seen. His map tells him that the park is fifty miles away. He must look for a sign that says, "The beginning of the park." He drives and drives, looking intently for the sign. There are beautiful trees, streams, and flowers all along the way, but he is so preoccupied in his search for the sign that he has no time for scenery. At long last he reaches a sign and it reads, "This is the end of the park. We hope you have enjoyed your visit." So intent was he on getting to the park that he didn't notice he had already been there!
We go through life looking for the treasures and we miss the treasures all along the way. We are always looking forward to some magical moment when we will find our treasure, e.g., graduation, marriage, the birth of a child, a raise in pay, etc. But our disregard or our blindness to the present moment prevents us from recognizing that the treasure is here in one another and in the events which make up our day to day living. The light is already shining in the present moment. What we need to do is open our eyes and hearts to its presence. To see the light shining now is already to have come out from under the basket.
Do we see it?
