Troy and I were good friends before we started dating, but his Grandmother had passed away before our official first date, so I never had the privilege to meet her. Shortly before this Troy had moved into his own home, so as the family sorted through his grandmother’s house, he inherited quite a few things - a tall grandfather clock, dining room table, a hutch and a buffet. He received the Grandfather clock because he always helped Grandma Louise take care of it and made sure that it was set and worked properly.

I remember the first time I saw his home after he had received all of these treasures from his Grandmother. The dining room set was beautiful, and his mother had the chairs reupholstered as a Birthday present for him. It impressed me that a bachelor had a beautiful dining room set. As I stood admiring the room, out of the corner of my eye I caught some unusual colors. I looked up and there perched on top this beautiful hutch was an arrangement of elephant mugs. They did not fit in with Troy’s decor at all, so I asked him about them. He told me that they had belonged to his Grandmother. She was a Republican and had bought these mugs for every year that I Republican had been president. Troy told me that his Grandmother had arranged them like that and that he wanted to do the same.

After we were married the elephant mugs continued to stay on top of the hutch. We had many dinner guests ask questions and sent many guests happily away with an elephant mug that was special to them because of the year it represented. It seemed that no matter how many mugs were sent home with guests there were always mugs left.

We made a move after we had been married for a year. As we were putting things in their places Troy put the mugs up on the hutch again. I never said anything and we had more guests who were delighted to receive one of the mugs.

We just recently moved again and when it came time to put things in their place I noticed that the elephant mugs were not around. I asked Troy if he wanted to put them on top the hutch. He looked at me and said "No, I'm ready to let that go."

I realized that there are those treasures that please the eye and than there are the most precious ones -those "treasures of the heart”-that are hardest to let go.

We all know people who are “Treasures of the heart” to us, some of them are still with us and others are now resting in our Savior’s arms. Today’s writing is dedicated and in honor of all of the people who have been precious gifts from God to me.

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with the power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all of the saints, to grasp how wide, and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work with in us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:14-21