And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness— secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name. Isaiah 45:3

Parable of the hidden treasure

There is a short parable of hidden treasure that Jesus tells in the Gospel of Matthew about the Kingdom of Heaven. In the parable a man discovers treasure hidden in a field, excitedly hides it again, then rushes to sell everything he owns to get enough money to buy the field.

Crazy, right? What is this treasure that someone would give up everything he owns to gain it? Jesus follows the parable with another one like it. This time a merchant is on the lookout for quality pearls and when he discovers a pearl of great value, he sells everything he owns and buys it!

What is this treasure, this pearl, that is worth everything we have? When Jesus tells this parable, might he be thinking—as he always does—of the Scriptures? In Proverbs, an ancient sage tells us to search for God’s commands, his wisdom, his understanding, his insight, as one would search for something of great value.

Search for them (commands, wisdom, understanding, and insight) as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.
Proverbs 2:4

If we took stock of everything we pursue, everything we value, everything we strive for, we’re on the lookout for, or diligently seek, what would be on our list? What would be in our parable of hidden treasure? Would it be priceless? Would it be timeless? Would Jesus call it the Kingdom of Heaven?

Little treasures abound in life. If we’re looking, we might find treasures buried in the sand, flying in the sky, surfacing in the waves. We can find them through discovery, when we’re on the lookout, or through our own diligent seeking. I found a few of these treasures on Isla Blanca.

Other treasures

While we may not have been thinking about the parable of the hidden treasure when it was meal time, we did think about seafood restaurants we wanted to try. With so many to choose from, we enjoyed quite a few great meals on Isla Blanca.

The first night Jon’s uncle took us to his local favorite, Dirty Al’s Seafood restaurant, where we served a heaping botana platter (a plate to be shared with family and friends) of fried fish and shrimp. There, I learned that the owner, Alfonso Salazar—who started out shrimping in his younger years—owns seven restaurants in the area. We decided to visit three of his other establishments throughout the rest of the week.

On our bike riding excursion, we stopped at Josephine’s Kitchen which has an awesome breakfast/brunch menu. The Crepe Mussette, a fresh crepe stuffed with blueberries, strawberries, bananas and nutella then topped with strawberries and cream was amazing. (How could it not be, served with nutella?) Fina’s French Toast and the Huevos Rancheros, and Eggs Benedict did not leave anyone hungry. Josephine also has delicious sounding daily lunch specials that we’ll have to try when we go back.

The next day we went to Senor Donkey Mexican restaurant and had excellent fajita nachos for lunch. Then, on our last night Daddy’s Cajun Kitchen prepared the fish that Jon and his uncle brought back from their fishing trip. At our request, they blackened the redfish and fried the trout. We also ordered side helpings of fried shrimp, fried okra, and french fires. While my taste buds delighted, it took a while for my tummy to recover from all the rich, fried food.

So many treasures

We don’t have to go anywhere special to find treasure; we can find them all around us, all the time. The way the sunlight dances in the leaves of a tree, a nest the sparrows built on the patio, or a sunset from the front yard.

The moments are priceless. The experience is timeless. The parable of the treasure reminds us of the Kingdom of Heaven all around us every day.

Grace and Peace