It was a very little thing, yet it’s something that made a big difference in my life.

At some point in elementary school, I took on painting ceramics. I remember one specific piece that my dad & I made together, for my mom.  It was a box with a lid, shaped like a wooden log, with flowers on the lid.  My dad has an eye for detail, so he painted the flowers, while I stuck with what I was comfortable with: one solid color of brown for the log.  My mom proudly displayed our work of art on her desk.

I don’t know exactly when it all started, but I remember my mom & I turning that little ceramic box into what we called our “treasure box”.

When I came home from school with a project I’d made for my mom, I would proudly place it inside the box & scamper to her side to declare, “treasure box!!” which prompted her to go find the awaiting treasure. Sometimes it was a drawing or a trinket I’d saved up my allowance to purchase from my school “store”.  Other times it was a note I’d written her from my heart.

The same went for my mom, except that she was a bit more sneaky!  She wouldn’t declare “treasure box!!”, rather she would simply wait until I actually discovered the treasure inside, on my own.  Sometimes it was a small trinket she’d noticed me eying at the store.  Other times it contained a hand-written note saying,”good job”.  A few times there was even a note with a hand-drawn skunk on it, accompanied with the words, “I’m sorry for being a stinker”.  My mom had enough courage & humility, along with humor, to apologize to her little girl when she was “was a stinker”. 🙂

It was a small thing.  A tiny ceramic box. But the treasure it became to me, far out-lasted the trinkets it held inside. The messages that little treasure box told me as a little girl, are forever stamped on my heart:

• I am LOVED
• I am VALUED
• I am CAPABLE of doing anything I sent my mind to
• My best is APPRECIATED, even if it’s flawed & imperfect
• I am a TREASURE to God & the ones He’s placed in my life
• ENCOURAGEMENT is necessary: receive it & give it
• LIFE IS SHORT; take time to enjoy the little things
• The SMALLEST things often mean the most
• Sometimes even when we’re right, WE’RE WRONG

Of all the messages that little treasure box held, the loudest message of them all was:
“An apology goes a long way: don’t withhold it because of pride”.

I’m sure my mom had no idea what a big difference that little “treasure box” & all those notes would make in my life, but she did it anyway!

What small thing in your life is God using to make a big difference? I’d love to hear about it in a comment below.

I’m grateful to be linking up in two places today!
Holley Gerth on “Coffee for Your Heart”:

Simply Beth for “Three Word Wednesday“: