The "things" we leave behind

As many times as I have driven near my friends home, I've never mustered the courage to turn down her street and drive by her house. That was, until just the other day. I drove down her street and past her home. Both Sue and her husband have passed within the last year, yet there it was. Their home, their refuge from the rest of the world, stood waiting, waiting for them to 'come home'. I had to make a U turn, and drive past the home again, slowly, almost stopping for a moment. How I remember walking up that sidewalk and ringing the doorbell. How I remember Sue's doggies barking at me as if to say, "I'm having you for dinner!" But now the house sits empty, probably going through the Probate Court, and then, who knows, possibly to sell and to become some other family's 'home'. As I drove to my own home, I had a flurry of thoughts swirling through my head. It seemed so surreal that Sue was gone. How could she be? Her house was sitting right there waiting for her to come home. It just couldn't be real that she would never pass through that door again. Never be with family on this earth again. Never pet her doggies or sing to her birdies. It seemed an unimaginable impossiblitiy that I would never run into Sue and her son as we both went shopping at the same time more than once. When we die, we leave precious family members, friends, and neighbors behind. We also leave 'things' behind as well. Homes, clothes, pictures, pets, things that are meaningful to us, trinkets, furniture, you name it. Our 'things' do not go away when we do. They are still very much here and stand, just like Sue's home, screaming out loud and clear....calling. Calling for Sue to 'come home.' We come into this world with nothing and leave the same way. We cannot take earthy posessions with us and why would we anyway? Heaven is perfectly furnished and there's no mortgage to worry about. Maybe I'll drive by Sue's home again one day, and I'll think about the things we leave behind. I'll remember to value what's important in life and that is caring about the people around me. When I do that, I won't be so concerned about the 'things' I have or don't. My treasure will be in Heaven. Sue has found the greatest treasures of all by going ahead. In a way, that makes her a very lucky soul. The next time I muster the courage to drive past Sue's earthly home and wish that she were still living in it, I'll remind myself that an earthly house is just a 'thing'....and the real treasure is in Heaven!