Family

The other day I watched a newer version of Jane Eyre and really liked it.

It's a rather sad story but does have a happier ending. Jane is the daughter of a clergyman and her parents die when she is young. She's taken in by an uncle and aunt with their three children but only her uncle shows her love. On his deathbed he asks his wife to promise to treat Jane as her own daughter and she does promise but she isn't a woman of integrity and treats Jane badly..."very badly indeed" as Mr. Knightley would say. Jane is mistreated, abused, falsely accused and ends up in a horrible school for girls. There are no fires for the girls to warm themselves and little food and this run by a man who "thinks" he's a Christian. She has one friend, who dies, but she is a strong young girl and rises up to become a teacher and then a governess.
Many things happen in her new home but the one thing that really "grabbed" me was this.
She had to leave her home, was found by a young clergyman and was taken in by his sisters. The clergyman tells her that she is a wealthy woman because an uncle left her all his fortune. She isn't really thrilled with this at all. Then he tells her that they are cousins and she is so excited and happy! She shares her fortune with her new-found family and eventually goes home to the man she loves...and remains close to her new family!

There is such a lesson in this. Money doesn't bring happiness. Of course we need it to live and we can do good things with it but... family...relationships...that's the real treasure.

When the love of money takes precedence over families, over people, we become exposed to all sorts of evil...greed, envy, strife, anger, hatred, even murder. How many times do we pick up a newspaper or hear the news about someone being killed for money, for material things.
We have seen businesses cheating people, people cheating businesses, not caring about anyone but themselves.

Oh to get back to what is really important....

Treasure your family. Cherish the times you have with them. If there are rifts, mend them if you can. Treat people as you would like to be treated. Such a simple yet powerful statement.
If we could just live by this rule...wow, what a difference it would make!