Treasure in a Field

Since our train would be leaving at 8:30 a.m. and arriving at 12:30, I wondered if there would be a place to eat while we waited for our son, Jamie, to pick us up. Jamie checked into it and said there was a Subway where we could grab a bite if we were hungry. I mentioned to son Greg, who had taken the Heartland Flyer trip with his wife on a previous occasion, that Jamie said there was a Subway at the railroad station.

“No, there’s no subway. I’ve been there before,” he said. “It is a bus station as well, but there is no subway.” Next time I talked to Jamie, I told him what Greg said.

“Mama, I’m telling you there is a Subway!” Jamie insisted. Meanwhile Greg was insisting there wasn’t. I asked Greg what eating places were there, and he said outside the depot there was everything! (I think he had in mind our point of departure, near the bustling Bricktown area in Oklahoma City).

“Well, Jamie said we could eat at Subway when we got there,” I persisted.

“Oh, you mean Subway, the restaurant!” Greg exclaimed, “I meant there were trains and buses, but no subway!” Lost in the translation. It reminds me of a wrong assumption I made yesterday.

Jamie wanted to take us somewhere, since the sun was shining brightly after the day of rain that met us when we got to Houston. Howard wanted to go to a guitar store, Anne-Marie wanted to go to the Galleria, and I wanted to go to TJMaxx. Jamie suggested Tuesday Morning, but we have one close to home now, so that didn’t appeal to me. “Do you have a Home Goods store?” I asked him. He knew of one in a shopping area nearby that also had a Barnes and Noble. Something for everyone. Howard went with me, and we would meet up with them at the bookstore a little later.

Getting our bearings at the fun (and right-priced) store, I headed to the beautiful display of gleaming bowls, pitchers and serving items in the dish and china section. Suddenly my eyes riveted on a stack of attractive plates. I loved them! So unusual and lovely with their square shape and lavender floral pattern. If only we had our car! I was examining them, thinking I could probably manage them on the train, when a woman came up and started putting them in her shopping cart! I walked away with a sense of loss, unreasonable as it was.

I couldn’t get them out of my mind, even asking a clerk if they had any more, which they didn’t. As we were getting ready to leave, I walked back to the display, even though I had seen the other customer take all that was left of the dinner plates. Just torturing myself, I thought. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a stack on the other side that I had overlooked! Just a wrong assumption that almost made me miss out! I quickly gathered what I wanted; I would find a way to get them home somehow.

Psalm 37:3,4 says: “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” God has promised to give us the desires of our hearts, but a little persistence goes a long way, naturally and spiritually! Don’t miss out on your blessing by assuming it’s not for you!