The gospel meditation in the July 26 weekly bulletin from the Church of the Ascension in Fountain Hills encouraged parishioners to make sacrifices for the things that matter most in life. 

The illustration given is a single mother of a special needs child, who works tirelessly to ensure that she can provide the best care possible for her son. 

“Being the best mother possible is important to her and brings her joy,” the meditation reads. “We are willing to make great and often heroic sacrifices for those people and things that matter most to us.”

So says a scripture reading from Mt. 13:44, in which a person who finds treasure buried in a field sells all that he has to buy the field so he can also own the treasure. The meditation explains that rather than approaching life in a haphazard way, which can take the joy out of life, we must invest our time and energy in the things that have the most meaning for us. 

“We allow our agendas to set the clock of our lives,” the meditation says. “We forget that joy and a true sense of purpose are not going to be found in following that timepiece. Joy is the expression of the happiness that is discovered when living in the kingdom of God.”

God delights in us and while it may be difficult to understand what that means, we must quiet our minds and listen for the voice of God and pour our time and energy into pursuing Him, as He pursues us. 

“When we begin to see as God sees, we can rise each day and notice what really needs our attention and embrace it with exuberance,” the meditation says. “Be careful, though. It might not be what we originally had on our list.”