What does RICH mean?

Several weeks ago, I picked up one of Isabella's friends for an afternoon of play.  As soon as she was safely buckled in, my van was filled with a flow of girly chatter.  They discussed things such as the fact that they both had on silver shoes, to the flowers growing by the side of the road, to the need of a snack as soon as possible.  Little talking girls quickly grow up into big talking girls.  Their futures and growing up was just one of the many topics covered in the short 8 minute drive to our house. The little friend said she wanted to be very rich when she grows up.  Isabella was puzzled by the term "rich" and asked me what it meant.  Before I could squeeze in a word, her friend gave her a kindergartner's definition - "Rich means that you live in a very big house, and you have lots and lots and lots of stuff."  Isabella proudly sat back in her booster seat, and said with a very smug smile, "Well, if that's what it means, then I am already rich!" 

 

I had to smile at her confidence because I know we are definitely not rich in terms of big houses and lots of stuff.  However, I am thankful that, in her little way, she feels that she is rich in what she claims as her own.

 

I recalled this conversation as I sat and watched the news footage of the recent Oklahoma tornadoes and of the fires that consumed hundreds of acres in Colorado.  Homes, vehicles, valuables, "stuff" gone in an instant.  I watched as parents gathered their children close, and told stories about how they gripped their babies by their arm as the wind tried to take them, and how they dug through the rubble to pull out their loved ones.  They cried, hugged their families and said that none of it mattered.  It was all gone, but what mattered most was still there.  It was all just stuff.  

 

In the face of those tragedies, the Lord reminded me how rich I really am.  If all of the "stuff" were taken away, but I still have the One who promised to never forsake me, then I am rich beyond my wildest dreams.  Wealth that I wouldn't trade the world for!  Lord, let me look at your blessings all around and, like Isabella, be thankful that I am "rich" in the things that really matter.