God's Treasure

This past week, my school suffered a tragic loss. Jordan Shortino, a member of Bradshaw's first graduating senior class, died in a car accident. I did not know Jordan personally but I doubt there was a single student in the high school who did not know Jordan to some extent. Jordan was funny and loud. He was a devout Christian and he never mocked anyone, despite being the biggest class clown in the school. On Tuesday morning, an assembly was held in honor of his memory. People were invited to stand up and say anything they felt should be said about him and many of those who attended the assembly were in tears. One girl sobbed openly for most of her first and second classes.

Faced with the death of Jordan. I had to wonder what our lives really mean.What are we to God, the maker of the universe? I once read that we are the currency of Heaven. It was a Colonial writing of some kind and it emphasized the value that God puts on our souls. Now, in light of Jordan's fatal accident, I must disagree. A tear is the coin of Heaven. A laugh,a a smile, an act of courage, mercy, or sympathy, that is the coin of Heaven! The human soul is a treasure trove that overflows with these coins. A treasure trove that cannot be purchased with all the money in the mortal world.

By all accounts, Jordan's treasure was one hundred-fold those of most people. Even though he never reached the age of twenty, he lived more than any other person that I know.

Bradshaw's first senior class had only seventeen members and all of them struck me as remarkable. They were a unique batch of young adults who each seemed to be somehow set apart. At the junior-senior prom, two of the teachers presented a short work that had been produced by the yearbook staff which jokingly prophesied the futures of each of the seniors. The yearbook and the last edition of this past year's school mgazine both celebrated the seniors as unique individuals. Now, I realize that the seniors were not any more unique than any other class, hey were simply fewer and therefore were less likely to be seen as just some more faces in the crowd.
My point is not that they were not as unique as everyone believed they were--in fact they are probably even more unique--but rather that everyone is as individual as they were. We are all treasure troves. We are all precious. We are all individuals.

Here's to Jordan Shortino, he will not be forgotten.