I acquired some treasure around three years ago. That treasure? Two of my grandparents’ diaries—one of Grandpa Hoy’s and one of Grandma Barnes’s—along with two of Grandma’s travel journals.

The diaries and journals came into my possession after my parents decided to sell their house in Missouri and move to Tulsa. They started going through years of accumulated belongings and wanted to winnow down the amount of stuff they’d actually take with them. Of course, they naturally asked my sisters and me if we’d like to have certain things, and of course, we did indeed find things we wanted to hang on to. The grandparents’ diaries and journals were among those things. I took a few to keep and my sisters also took some.

Right away, I looked up certain important dates like wedding days, birthdays, etc., to see what my grandparents had written on those days. Since they were using those little five-year locking diaries that were so popular back in the 60s and 70s, they had only about four short lines to write the events of the day. Since they had to pick and choose what they’d record, it was especially interesting to see what they thought was important.

After that initial gander at the contents of the diaries, though, I’m sorry to admit that I let them sit untouched until just recently. Oh, I had every intention of going through them more thoroughly, but I let the busyness of life keep me from exploring and savoring these treasures like I should have.

But one day a couple of weeks ago as I was implementing my theme word for this year and resting from my work for a bit, I picked up one of my treasures again. And I’m so glad I did.

Without going into detail, I found an entry in Grandpa’s journal that gave me insight into an event that was quite upsetting to me at the time. I was a teenager, and like so many teenagers, I saw only one side of the story. But now a few precious words in Grandpa’s diary showed me another side. The new-found insight comforted me, even now so many years later.

Now I’m wondering what other gems I’ll find in my grandparents’ diaries and journals and am determined to not let this extraordinary treasure sit idle for so long again. I plan to make time to explore and savor my treasure as I should, knowing that other sweet moments and discoveries await me.

What other untouched treasures may be at my fingertips and yours just waiting to bless us when we’ll give them the time and attention they deserve? It’s a shame to let treasure go untouched, isn’t it? Let’s determine to open our treasures.

“I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” Isaiah 45:3 NIV

*What are some other examples of untouched treasure? For many, the Word of God might fall into this category. What else comes to mind?

*My photo

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, came out earlier this month. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!