Did you hear about the family in Florida that recently found buried treasure at the bottom of the ocean? The value of their unexpected find was estimated to be in excess of a million dollars.
I have never gone searching after pirates’ plunder, but while sorting through my parents’ garage recently, I came across meaningful mementos I had no idea existed.
Imagine my surprise when I opened a box of old books and came upon a world civilization textbook from the 1930s. As I opened the cover, I discovered who the young student was who had once toted it home from Wenatchee Junior High School. None other than the publisher of my hometown newspaper.
Speaking of newspapers, I also came upon a yellowed front page of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer from Aug. 15, 1945. The giant blue and white headlines announced PEACE. The war that had defined my father’s young life was over. The war that had resulted in 60 million deaths had finally ended. No wonder he kept it.
But the most significant find was a letter my maternal grandfather had written to my mom’s sister in 1949. It was a brief typed letter in which Papa Birkeland asked his daughter to pray about a decision her brother was having to make about a job offer in Lewiston, Idaho.
As I read the carbon-copy letter on onion skin paper, a lump formed in my throat. For the first time in my life, I realized how significant that letter was. Had my uncle decided not to take the Lewiston position, I’d have never been born.
It was because my mom’s brother decided to opt for the job that he moved with his family to Idaho. It was while working in Lewiston that my Uncle Benny met a young unmarried minister. As my uncle spent time with Pastor Eddie, he realized that this handsome cleric would be a great catch for his unmarried baby sister. Four dates and seven months later, the two were married. Fifteen months later I was born.
Happening upon that letter was like finding a small fortune. Being faced with the stark reality that I might never have been born has allowed me to look back on the past 63 years with a deeper sense of gratitude.
So what about those boxes in the attic you’ve successfully managed to ignore? Perhaps it’s time to start a treasure expedition. There’s no telling what you might unearth. But based on my experience, whatever you find is bound to be worth the effort.
Rev. Greg Asimakoupoulos is a frequent contributor and columnist for the Mercer Island Reporter. He is the chaplain at Covenant Shores on Mercer Island.