It all goes back in the box

The Parable of the Rich Fool - Luke 12:13-21

 ¹³Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." ¹⁴Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" ¹⁵Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
 ¹⁶And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. ¹⁷He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'
 ¹⁸"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '
 ²⁰"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
 ²¹"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."


Does this story sound familiar? 
Members of my church have formed small groups to do a book study during the season of Lent, which begins this week on Ash Wednesday. The book is called "When the Game is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box."
This week's assignment was to read the first two chapters. Chapter Two ended with an assignment. Go through your house with sticky notes and write the word temporary on everything that you have that will remain behind once your are gone. And, don't forget - no one, no matter how rich, famous, beautiful or nice you are, no one escapes the inevitable end of life.
So what's going with you into the next world?
As I watch the sun barely light the sky at this very moment, I know for sure the sun will rise again tomorrow. What I don't know for certain is "will I?"
It's been a very very hectic month and the last two weeks hold incredible deadlines for me at work. I have spent two days mourning the fact that I have so much to do. And, I worked here and there, but I worked none the less Saturday and Sunday.
But today... today is my day. My daughter is leaving for basic training today. She said I didn't have to drive to town to have breakfast with her. But she's wrong, I do have to drive to town at 8:30 a.m. to have breakfast with her. I would like nothing better than to hold onto her forever, but I can't not in this life anyway.
I will go and I will tell her how much I love her. How proud of her I am for taking this challenge to better her life. To grow up, to go to school for a Master's degree - to see the world.
I will pray for her, every day. She is beautiful and talented and clever and I want to hold onto her forever, but ultimately she belongs to God. So when I am feeling overwhelmed I give her to her Heavenly Father. I know he will take care of her... and me. As my ancestors always ended their letters to family that was far away and whom they never thought they would see again on Earth, they wrote "we will meet again in Heaven."
They understood the suffering and pain was temporary. The houses and fields and crops were temporary.
So today, I will spend time with my beloved daughter and her husband, who she will have to leave behind tomorrow morning at 6 a.m., and trust that we will all be here when she returns. AND, she will return.
I am so looking forward to seeing her, now and then - and forever.