What's valuable to you?

I spoke to a group recently and afterwards, a woman came up to me and began telling me some of her life stories. I'm always fascinated by people's stories so I listened intently to each one. When she told me one particular story, I asked her if I could share it with you. She said, “Sure!” so here it is.

She and her then-boyfriend were in college together. He planned to become a medical doctor. She refused to marry him until he was in his residency training, wrongly thinking that they'd have more time to be together then. He really wanted to get married, but, of course, respected her wishes. However, he wanted to buy her an engagement ring anyway, but he didn't have enough money.

Now there are some things more precious than others to us in life, and to this budding doctor, his microscope was his most precious possession. He used it in labs, to do homework; it was virtually his constant companion. And it was also the most valuable thing he owned. So he sold it to buy her an engagement ring. And she's never once doubted his love.

So what's valuable to you?