Now she stands with three new trophies from three different speech achievements; none of them firsts, but she did do quite well. These are the trophies she had almost forgotten at her grandparent's house when she drove home the day after she received them. These are the trophies that were crammed into whatever spot they fit in the trunk. She's not even sure where these trophies are located currently.
She laughs as she thinks back to that silly trophy from years ago that she had treasured so very much. She had given so much value to a piece of shiny plastic and did anyone remember that now? No. Is it important to her now? No.
See, in just three short years that trophy had lost any worth it had had when she received it. And in less than two days her three new ones lost their value.
Her true victory with these new speeches was the fact that people's lives were impacted by them, and she rejoiced and thanked God for that fact.
J.R.R. Tolkien once so wisely said, "Not all that glitters is gold," and she feels that this quote applies perfectly to her silly little trophies. The beautiful shapes shine in the light and truly are quite lovely, but just because they sparkle and look important does not mean they have any value whatsoever.
Someday when she is married and has a whole passel of kids will anyone care that she did well in speech events in high-school? Will even she care?
She values the trophies only because they remind her of the lessons she has learned this past few years and how dramatically God has transformed her heart and life.
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy
and where thieves break in and steal,
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust destroys
and where thieves do not break in and steal."
(Matthew 6:19-20)
Over and out,
~Emily
P.S. Sorry I haven't posted for a little while. My trip was phenomenal and God taught me so much! I have been writing about objects (except for three days during which I was quite sick) and perhaps I'll share what I wrote sometime...
Glad you're back! :) Just want to say, I don't think there's anything wrong with valuing trophies. ;) Maybe I say this because I'm a packrat, but they usually represent a special occasion in your life, a day you want to remember, a feat that others helped you accomplish, even that speech that impacted so many and glorified God. It's what they stand for that makes them valuable. And I don't think that's wrong. :) But if you get really upset if you lose it or break it, then you've got a problem! :p Because the trophy doesn't matter as much as the memory it represents.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Tianna. My problem a few years ago was that I wasn't valuing the trophy for the memories, I was valuing it because I won... which was just stupid. ;) Winning is great, but that's what I wanted, that's what I was going for, and because of that I missed out on so many lessons that I could have learned earlier than I did.
DeleteAmazing and thought-provoking, Emily.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I'm going to incline slightly more toward Tianna's perspective. I like the trophies, medals, and certificates I have from Bible Quiz and Speech, not as treasures of value, but as reminders of God's blessings in those times that I might otherwise forget. For me, they're a reminder not of how great I did or how amazing I am, but how amazing God is and how He can speak and work through even flawed, weak people like me.
I kind of answered this above, but I'll say it here as well. I do certainly value the memories that trophies hold and the lessons that they remind me of, but my goal a few years ago was to win, and I did and I saw how pointless that was. when our goal is to come home with a trophy we are just going to be disappointed, either because most of the time we don't get them or because later on we'll see how messed up our outlook was. Yes, I do value trophies for all of the reasons that you gave. =)
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