Do you remember the day that your husband placed a ring on your finger and you heard the words, "With this ring I do thee wed.."? The wedding ring is something we hold dear. I thought my ring was incredibly beautiful even though it was just a small gold band. It had little orange blossoms and was hand carved with a silver inlay. Most of the delicate design was worn off but to me the ring had lost none of its beauty.
I lost my cherished wedding ring! Even though I know where and when I lost it, a careful search brought no results. I know that it is gone and it feels strange not to be able to touch or see a ring that has been on my finger fifty-eight years in June. I wore it all the time but somehow it slipped off my finger when getting out of the car.
Sunday morning I was sitting in church and felt such a great loss and sadness. But then the following thoughts began to fill my mind and heart:
What you have lost is a symbol. No one can take away the years of your happy marriage. All that you have shared with your husband, the good days, the storms, the victories, the failures, all that make up a life; none of this is lost.
My spirit was lifted! I am so thankful for those things that cannot be taken away. It is also a reminder that anything that I can see or touch is temporal and all of this will pass away. I want to take inventory of my life. How much time do I invest in those things that have eternal value? Something to think about!
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Matthew 6: 19,20
