What Is Important?

What is important to you? Recently we had the privilege of moving from the temporary housing at the S.E.T.E. (the Church of God Seminary in Quito, Ecuador) to our much more permanent rental. Our family has many helping hands but some of the smaller hands need guidance. As we packed for the move we told Ezequiel make sure he did not leave anything important in his room. A few moments later he appeared in the kitchen and announced to us that he has everything. In his hands were his boots and a plastic bag with two stuffed toy monkeys (his and his brother’s) and a good Church shirt. All the items that he considered important enough to make sure not to leave. This of course made us wonder why we packed two suitcases for him, he apparently can get by with much less and we needed the suitcase space! Or, perhaps the values of a five year old are a bit different than those of his parents. We are pretty glad we packed him more than a pair of shorts, boots and a good Church shirt. Our son’s values do bring an important question to mind. What is it that we really find important? For our family, the question is increasingly being rephrased to who not what do we find important. Things tend to get destroyed by rust and moths but people are eternal. That is really why we are doing what we are doing, that is why we left the comforts of home, because people matter, possessions don’t. This is why there is a deep longing in our hearts when we think of the people we left in order to come here and why there is an ever increasing concern for the people we meet here.

Perhaps a second question should be asked. If you could do anything to make an eternal difference in the lives of people, what would you do?

with love,

The Downings