Treasures of the Heart
And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart (Luke 2:19).
The most familiar translation of that verse invokes the word treasured: Mary treasured these things and pondered on them in her heart.
It’s a particularly poignant phrase because it resonates in the human experience. No doubt every mother has claimed those words for her own in those first, heady days with a newborn. New love, the fulfillment of a long-sought dream, even the moment after a devastating diagnosis: These are moments when the world seems to pause and hold its breath, when reality seems more real. Our awareness becomes elevated and we recognize the beauty and gift that is life. Existence itself feels like a prayer.
And then there are those times when the things we treasure and ponder in our hearts are not so elevated. We worry into the wee hours of the morning, beating ourselves up for mistakes. We cherish grudges and nurture our memory of insults. We hold on to anger and gnaw on past conflicts, reconstructing arguments with bulletproof points we couldn’t summon in the heat of the moment, fanning the flames of self-righteous anger.
