I saw a ghost today.

Every time I drive out of town a certain way, I see this little old house on the right side of the road.  It's a sweet little house out in the country with all sorts of trinkets and lawn ornaments adorning the yard.  Well, I guess not anymore.  But it used to.  And sometimes when I would drive by on the way to drop my son off at school I would see this very old lady walking around outside, all hunched over, with paints and paintbrush in hand.  She would walk around her yard and diligently "touch up" all of her treasures she had lined up in her yard.  It always melted my heart.  It appeared as if she lived there all alone.  I always wondered what her story was.  Every time I drove by I would look for her, as for some reason she intrigued me.

The day I saw the lawn ornaments removed and the for sale sign in the yard, I felt a little sad, wondering what happened to the sweet little old lady.  Did she die?  Probably.  She didn't appear to be Retirement Home material.  It's been several months since I've got to see her.  Today as I was driving by, I thought of the sweet little old lady, wondering what she would think about her house being for sale and all of her beautiful lawn ornaments put away.  


As I drove closer to the house, I saw her.  I could see her through the glass door in the shed.  She was just standing there, with her arms crossed, wearing a peach robe and looking rather glum.  I assumed she was looking at the shell of what her place used to be, sad that she wasn't there to tend to it, and sure that whoever comes to live there won't take care of it the way she used to.  I blinked, unsure of what I was seeing, and when I reopened my eyes she was gone.


I don't believe in ghosts and I promise I didn't take any mind altering drugs.  Perhaps I've been watching too much Sci-Fi.  I've convinced myself it was my mind playing tricks on me.  I drove away, breathless and shaky.  Regardless, it has my head reeling.


We all have things in this life that we never want to leave.  Perhaps it's your children, your spouse, your work, your pets or your possessions.  Well, God tells us this...

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Matthew 6:21

If I knew that I would die tomorrow, the first thing I would think about were my kids.  The list of people I would miss and the experiences I wished to have someday would go on and on I'm sure.  Then regrets would set in.

Today was a reminder, that there is more to this life than THIS.  If I'm gone tomorrow, everyone else will go on living.  My kids will be in God's hands and I will be in heaven.  I certainly don't want to worry about being a ghost, lurking around my property in a peach robe, making sure the next tenant keeps my garden up.  I want God to be my most valuable treasure.

Today was also a reminder to me that we are only here for a short time.  Worrying about silly things that don't matter only waste the time we have.  Life is about living while we are here.  That's not an excuse to party all day every day, that is a call to do what is right.  To accomplish what you were put here to do.  We all have a purpose, whether we know it yet or not. 

And hey, a little funny business on the side is probably okay every now and again...