The Treasure Box

I asked my niece to write a blog post:

I like to think that I am a typical “teenager”. I go to school five days a week, try as hard as I can to party with friends on the weekends, and drag myself out of bed to go to church Sunday morning. I enjoy playing basketball, rocking out on the piano, and reading the newest fiction novel. I try to listen to all the “new” music and keep up with the style trends. I have two wonderful parents who love me no matter what. I enjoy being the oldest of 4 kids. I have had a very blessed life. There are no great trials that I could tell you that have dramatically changed my life. However, I have an aunt, that even when suffering through all her trials would drop everything and run to help me through mine. This is a blessing that not every person has the opportunity to have. As a young child Sarah played with me endlessly! On one particular “play date” of ours Sarah brought me a little orange box. Nothing really fancy this box was, but I loved (and still love) this little orange box. Sarah then told me that this box was meant to hold my “special treasures”. So she helped me scrawl the word treasures into the top of the box. This box of my “treasures” sits in my bedroom to this day. As I was thinking back on all the rocks and leaves that I shoved into this little box I began to think of all the real treasure that Sarah has given me. We went to Color Me Mine on a regular basis, swam in the kiddie pool together, danced on the driveway in the rain, ate all the candy out of her purse right before dinner, picked dandelions and turned our skin yellow, played in the sprinklers, had birthday parties, and always laughed no matter what! These are my treasures that I will NEVER forget. I look forward to every day I get to spend with her making new treasures to store in my box. Life is full of trials, times will get tough, and often times you may want to quit. When you feel this way think of your little box of treasures and times won’t seem quite so hard. I love Sarah to the moon and back, she has been a great influence on the decisions I have made in my life. I hope that we will continue to make treasures to store in this small, but extremely important, box of treasures.