Two Treasures

I sit here looking at two priceless treasures. Their worth is unfathomable. One is a soccer ball. The gashes in it have been formed from the many days of use. The dirt has become part of the ball itself. It has been misshapen from the use. Distorted from its original roundness. You can barely recall what it should look like. The other is a volleyball, or at least it once was. It is deflated and the outside covering in tatters barely being held together. It has been used even more than the soccer ball. No longer does it hold its shape but has become almost incomparably altered.

These are my treasures and to think that all I did was give away a new soccer ball in exchange for each. I am sure that those soccer balls will one day become treasures just as these have earned their value. Their eyes so rich as we traded. I see why Christ traded us our old broken lives for new ones. He wanted to see our joy, and our lives are as precious to him as these balls are now to me. They tell a story, a story of joy and happiness despite the squalor that they have endured. Just like the days preceding this have met with gleaming smiles and melting eyes, today is no different. These treasures I hold, tell of richness that I can only hope for. They tell of a joy and peace that I do not know. To some they may seem trivial or dirty or even garbage but when closely examined it is easy to tell of their great worth.

What other treasure on Earth has the power to bring this kind of joy or to dull the pains of hunger and thirst? What treasure of Solomon could have done this? The gift of laughter and of joy is more precious than all that this world has to offer. These treasures have the ability to mask the pain they must feel as illness takes them. As disease runs rampant, it is clear that these treasures are among the only things that provide a respite from their struggles. So yes, these two treasures I hold are worth far more than all of the most dazzling diamonds, the brightest sapphires, the deepest rubies and the purest gold. It is like a beautiful painting except far more beautiful as it does not tell the story of a wealthy man or woman. It does not tell the story of some powerful ruler. It tells the story of the forgotten.