Yesterday, two men tried to break into our house while I was home. I had worked at my desk in the morning, so I didn’t shower until after lunch. I came out of the bathroom about 2:15. When I walked by the front door I noticed a four door pick-up truck parked on the circle drive right near the front door.

Thinking it was someone who had done some work around the house I stepped outside and walked toward the truck. A woman opened the back door of the vehicle. “Can I help you?” She stammered but didn’t answer me. About that time two young men hurried across the front yard from the back of the house. “Can I help you?” I directed toward the men. No answer. They kept heading toward the truck. So I repeated, “Can I help you?”

The driver paused by the door. “I was looking at your trees. I do tree work. Do you need any tree work?”  I told him we lost a pine tree to beetles over the summer and had to have it cut down. In the process we also had deadwood trimmed from an oak tree. We didn’t need any “tree work,” but “thank you.” He climbed in the driver’s seat and backed out of my circle drive.

The whole encounter was odd. I momentarily wondered if I should call the police or try to get the license plate number, but I hurried inside and locked the door. When my husband came home about 5:30, he walked in asking “What happened to the glass in the door into the garage?” Immediately I knew that the “odd encounter” was really a burglary attempt.

We called the sheriff’s office to file a report. The deputy that came to the house was nice but impressed on me the seriousness of what happened. They had probably rung the doorbell while I was drying my hair and thought no one was home. The woman was the lookout and notified the two men when I came outside. The deputy believed they had no intention of hurting me, but he also gave me some tips for practicing safety.

I felt a bit scared, angry, and indignant all at the same time. But mostly I felt grateful. I’ve been thanking God all day for my safety. And in the midst of it all, God has reminded me that even if they had taken everything in our house, none of that is really important. It’s all just “earthly treasure.” It has no lasting, eternal value. I should hold those things loosely anyway. The things of God are what matters most.

 ¹⁹ “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.  Matthew 6:19-21, NLT

What earthly things are you holding too tightly? How can you instead “store up treasures” in heaven?

Stay Connected

Sign up to get Kathy's blog posts by email and get a free Bible study on the book of Titus. 

Subscribe

You have Successfully Subscribed!