One day, after finishing my grocery shopping, I noticed a stack of real‑estate magazines displayed in bright, tempting colors at the entrance. Seeing the word Free printed on the sign, I picked up a booklet filled with vacation homes in the Poconos. I wondered, How many of these beautiful houses standing tall on the meadows along the Hudson River actually exist? I knew I couldn’t buy one, of course—but surely I could at least enjoy looking.

As soon as I got home, I put away the groceries, then carried the booklet upstairs as if it were some important document. To let my imagination spread its wings freely, I lay down on the bed and began flipping through the pages.

The houses came in all shapes and styles. One mansion in particular—twelve rooms, standing like a painting on a wide plateau atop a high hill—made my heart burst open. Before I knew it, I was galloping on horseback across the land. I imagined flocks of ducks landing on the lake beside the house, a lake the size of a sports field. I pictured a blazing red sunset so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes, and my husband tending a fire in the fireplace. I imagined the children laughing on the tennis court, friends’ voices echoing through the yard—moments that felt like the happiest scenes one could live on this earth.

But when I looked at the price of such a house, I suddenly felt small—poor, worn out, and quietly sad at the center of my heart.

“What are you looking at so intently?” My husband’s voice cut through my soaring wings of imagination and desire like a loudspeaker waking someone from sleep. What’s the point of explaining? We live in a completely different world from these things… Feeling irritated, I silently threw the booklet into the trash.

Then the Holy Spirit spoke: “You still don’t know how rich you are—how blessed.” “Rich? I’m actually very upset right now! God, look at us. Why can’t we live a stable life like this? Why must we always struggle?” “Did you go hungry today because you had no food?” “No… who goes hungry these days?” “Then shall we take a look at the inventory inside you?” “Go ahead! You’ll soon see how empty I really am!”

In the silence, the Holy Spirit opened a storeroom. And when the inventory was revealed— what a surprise. Treasures I had never seen before, invisible riches, poured into view.

— Yoon Wan‑Hee, 2001