TREASURE
© The School of Truth
Source p. 187 June / July 2007 - The Path of Truth
Once again the winter holidays are here and we sit at Gramps' feet, tired out from playing with our cousins, last seen a year ago, tummies filled to capacity with Gran's delicious cooking, and eagerly awaiting another story round the fireplace.
"When we were away from our mother during the war" he begins "we lived on a farm which was bordered by a forest. If you walked through the forest you came to a little stream, and we spent many a leisurely day there with the other children, fishing, paddling, and generally having a great time. I felt very at home in that forest, and it held a special kind of magic for me. And soon I was to find out that there was indeed magic of a sort there.... believe it if you will."
"Your great aunt Sarah and I often finished our chores before the other children. Your great aunt Nell was still too young to do chores, so Sarah and I would be allowed 'free time' to do whatever we pleased. We'd take our books and rods and go down to the stream."
"I'll never forget the moment we first saw him - Sarah was lying on her back reading while I was baiting my hook. He simply arose sideways from the trunk of a gnarled old tree. I must have thought he was part of the trunk but there he stood, brown and gnarled himself, his long, bearded face wearing an earnest expression. 'I need your help' he said, and though I knew his voice was gruff, I do not recall actually hearing it - it just sort of came into my head. Astonished, I did not reply but turned to see if he was talking to someone behind me. Sarah was sitting up, terror etched on her face. 'Don't you help him!' she hissed. 'He may be a spy.' At this point the strange being laughed roughly, almost like thunder. 'I need your help, O chosen ones, to save the world.' The adventure we'd hoped for since coming to the farm was upon us."
"'Do we have to go to war like Papa?' asked Sarah. 'All you have to do is open the door and you'll find out how to save the world' he answered steadily and handed me a red silk cord to which was attached a small golden key. It sparkled as it caught the sun. As I touched the key, the man's hand, then arm, then whole body simply blended back into the tree trunk. We poked at the trunk and kicked it with our toes, but there was no sight of him."
"'What are we to do?' we both blurted out at the same time and both trembling. Sarah, always the practical one, pulled herself up to full height and said 'Let's look for the door.' So we began to search, scared of what we might find, scared too at the thought of saving the world. As we walked deeper into the forest, we whispered about what we had heard about fairy folk. Gnomes, we knew, were the guardians of the treasures of the earth. 'It must be a pirate's chest' I ventured. 'Or King Solomon’s mines' said Sarah. After what seemed ages we came upon a tree trunk that had what looked distinctly like a door in it. Excitedly we searched for a keyhole and sure enough found it right in the middle of the door."
"With trembling hands and knocking knees we tried the key. Before we knew it the door swung inwards with a creaking that was so loud that it would have caught the attention of any spy lurking in the forest. We hurried into the doorway, our fear forgotten, but careful not to push the door closed behind us. The cavernous room which we had entered smelt of moss and damp leaves. It was lit by tiny lanterns hanging on its bark-like walls. Small log tables with benches and an even smaller bed were the only things in the room. Then we noticed something different. A huge book - well as big as the bed - lay on the mossy floor. As we picked it up we knew it was what we were looking for."
"Hurrying out of the doorway we glanced back - there was no door at all in the tree trunk! With our hearts pounding we carried the book back to the farmhouse. We felt sure we would be grounded for being out for so long. Also we'd left our things on the bank of the stream. But the house clock said it was only 15-minutes since we'd left! When we got to the kitchen door our Aunt Sue looked amazed. 'You're back early' she said 'Fishing poor today?' Sarah and I looked at each other not knowing what to say. We rushed upstairs to look at the book."
"It was written and illustrated beautifully. Each picture was outlined in gold. 'Perhaps that is why it is so important' murmured Sarah. Hardly daring to breathe we read the first words: 'There is no time.' The book began. 'Life is lived in moments only. Make every moment count.' So ended page one. When we turned to page two, the words there changed before our eyes. 'Practice page one before you continue' it said.
"Sarah and I were awfully disappointed. We had hoped the book would say how to end the war so we could get back to Mom. We began to doubt our adventure, but we had the book! So we did our best to do what the book said, and one afternoon page two said something new - but that is quite another story. Now that I am an old man I know, of course, what true treasure is. Good night, dear grandchildren. Sleep well."
God has made every moment of every day especially for you. The greatest excitement in life is in making the most of them.
(Ref. CR 0704)
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