Then it happened to another sweater and a wool skirt. One by one as I tried on my winter clothes little holes appeared in them. I was disturbed and perplexed.
After several days of anxious investigation, I discovered the reason for the damage. When we moved to Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, a former occupant of our government quarters had unknowingly left us a "welcoming gift"--insect larva that eat wool.
We took samples to our country extension service, and they identified the insect as rare, not native to Kansas, and probably from overseas.
The worst loss was the tiny outfit knit by a Swedish aunt for my husband's birth. My mother-in-law is not a saver, and this was the one thing she'd treasured enough to save from my husband's baby things. When it dissolved into holes, I sadly put the tiny mother-of-pearl buttons in a small envelope.
We had to have our house “bombed” with insecticide, and we sent all of our wool items to a warehouse where they sprayed and encased them for several days to insure the larva eggs died.
It was an "itchy period" in our lives caused by a very tiny enemy, but it was not the first time God had taught me about "earthly treasure."
However, moving damage didn't seem nearly as formidable as this tiny larva, no longer than an eyelash, that was eating my woolens.
But God uses all things for our good (Romans 8:28), and He used this little larva to remind me again of Christ's words in Matthew 6:19-21:
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.” (NLT)
Earthly treasure, no matter how permanent it seems, isn't really permanent. Yet we spend much of our lives, "hearts, and thoughts" accumulating and worrying about it. In contrast, the things we do for Christ are permanent and safe...they can't be stolen, lost or eaten by larva! When we realize this truth, it sets us free!
Help us, Lord, to set our hearts and thoughts on heavenly treasure!
Find out more about Gail HERE
Gail- I didn't know you were a fellow Kansan! :) My husband always chases the moths down in our house when they fly in so they won't get into our closets or eat our curains! What a pain. I'm glad you see the lesson the Lord taught you in all of it. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Nicole
workingkansashomemaker.blogspot.com
Actually, I have family roots in Kansas. My great grandparents homesteaded there. But my grandparents (and my father)had to leave Rolla due to the dust bowl in the 30's when they moved to Colorado, which I grew up calling my home state. But if you read my post this week about my May Mantle, you'll see that I've never lived long enough for any state to claim me : )
ReplyDeleteBut I still have 2nd cousins in Hugaton, Kansas. And since marriage, I've spent a total of 4 years at Ft.Leavenworth, Kansas on two different military assignments. So I think I can claim to be part Kansan.
"Moths and rust," ah yes. I spin wool from the sheep we raised, and other fiber. One day I accepted bags of free alpaca that turned out loaded with moth larvae. He'd already taught me about thieves breaking through and stealing. And loss of earthly "treasures" with many moves. What's interesting is how even earthly life went on just fine without all those lost things, and how much life now gets problematic with accumulated clutter! Yes, lay up treasure there, not here!
ReplyDeleteThanks for these additional thoughts and confirmations, Sylvia. May we all be laying up our treasure where it will never spoil!
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