Value the Eternal Stuff

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Okay.  I'll admit it.  I’m weird.  I absolutely LOVE school supplies.  Maybe it has to do with the fact that I loved school when I was growing up. Or, maybe it has to do with the fact that I’m a teacher, I really don’t know.  I just know this:  buying college-ruled paper, mechanical pencils, and fine point pens (never the gel kind!) makes me smile! 

I “had” to go to Wal*mart on Saturday and guess what was on sale?  Virtually every single school supply known to man.  Crayola crayons, pink erasers, the works.  If I had oodles of money, I would have perused the section for adorable notebooks, patterned pencils, and brightly colored markers.  Needless to say, we don’t have loads of extra cash sitting around, so I settled for scotch tape and notebook paper.  

As I was walking down the aisles, it made me think of how quickly Riley’s going to arrive at the school-age years.  I’ve mentioned it before:  She’s getting too big too fast.  She’s lost that “newborn” look and moved on to “infant.”  Each new stage is fun (oh how we love the smiles, giggles, and babbling!).  One stage that I can’t wait to start is the school stage.  I’m looking forward to sharing my love of school & learning with Riley.  I can’t wait to set up a school area in our house where Riley and I can spend time conducting experiments and sounding out words.  Where we can study history and work out word problems.    I can’t wait, but I can.  I don’t want to rush it.

But all this thinking about school and learning made me think of one more thing.  If Riley learns anything from her mommy, I hope she learns that many things are even more important than knowing all the presidents, multiplication tables, and capitols.  I hope she can recite more Bible verses than she can nursery rhymes.  I hope I teach her that living for Jesus is always worth it.  I hope, by example, I teach her how to be a good wife and mother. 

So many people value their kids’ educations, as they should.  They focus on getting them into a good college and having them find a high-paying career (which is becoming increasingly more difficult in our present economy).  Those things are fine.  But, if Riley gets to be 25 and makes good money and has a string of letters behind her name, what good will that do her in eternity?  I want to teach her value eternal things.  

For what shall it profit a man, 

if he shall gain the whole world, 

and lose his own soul?

Mark 8:36