A Gift of God

  In the habit of wondering as I do, I came across a sort of, mental blurb, a rant really. Free flowing of thought fluidly moving as it should, where it wanted (where I wanted?). Well, I was reading an article and paused to consider, as I often do, what was being read, but in respect to my own life and opinions. Right after David Buss, the psychologist, answers to "What do you believe is true even though you can not prove it". He responded with this first sentence: "True love." After a paragraph into his excerpt I began this habit, of wondering as I do. My True Love: GOD. First. Always. And then the mind started to drift upon the flow of thought it had created,  traveling to the islands of memory. Each one visited was a small plot of past relationships. Perhaps if compiled into one, it would be great, a gift of God, to find one's soul mate. If God was my True Love, then what would I consider the bond between my future soul mate: A mere but powerful reflection, extension perhaps of my True Love, God. Though human, as frail and foiled as we tend to be, this "soul mate" would be a great reminder of God's provision, understanding, compassion, forgiveness, wisdom, guidance, patience, righteousness... Not because of this "soul mate”‘s perfection but conversely because of their imperfections.
 
  Your wondering just where I’m flowing? Well, I'm riding this wave: God, who is holy and righteous, perfect in love and rule, has a way of shaking one's core, the spirit if you will. I've felt it. The way it moves and stirs up the living inside. It has a way of changing your existence, though unexpected, unpredictable, unexplainable, and unyielding. Well I thought, if something (if it being a soul mate) so imperfect and humanly flawed can touch me, if only briefly, the same divine way, I'd be convinced it was of God. If only a gift in the beautiful human package, it would be from Him. And as all gifts from God, it is one to cherish and greatly appreciate.

  This lead to another wave of thought: How do you show proper appreciation and gratitude for a gift, from God nonetheless! Well we've all heard of instances appropriated around the gift giving holidays and customs. You know the kind? The one that in tells the gift giver going to great measures of money, time, and  considerations only for the recipient to be either ungrateful or under the pretense of gratitude, intently wishing the gift came with a receipt, exchange policy, or welcoming among other forsaken gifts in the circle of exchange games. If you’re the disheartened gift giver, this reaction becomes an insult. How could something you felt in your heart, conceived in your mind, and manifested with your efforts as a token of love/appreciation be used or regarded in a way outside of what you intended.

  For instance, with a loving thought for a child's warmth and wellbeing a grandmother sets out in her heart to knit a sweater for her granddaughter. She meditates on her granddaughter's bubbly personality, beautiful brown eyes, and inclination to all things comfortable. She spends hours in the local fabric store searching for cloths reminiscent of her. She labors in love and arthritis for the moment her grandchild will wear the  sweater complimenting her eyes, wrapping her in comfort, buffering her from harsh surroundings, and think of her grandmother affectionately. In suspense and child-like excitement the grandmother watches the face of her cherished, waiting for the moment of praise and due thanks. Instead, she is met with a half hearted "thank you" and an awkwardly framed smile, similar to the way the sweater was carelessly stuffed back into it's box. "She doesn't appreciate it now, but wait until winter comes", the grandmother thinks with optimism. Time passes and the granddaughter has neither worn the sweater, nor made honorable use of it, unless you count the time she used it to dry the dog's wet fur after its weekly washing. Grandmother did not knit the sweater for the single purpose of lining the garage floor after drying Fido's mangy fur.

         She created it with a purpose centered around the need and specifics of her cherished one. In the same way God's gift of a "soul mate" would be specially tailored for me. Okay, Okay, it's fair to say, perhaps grandmother got a little carried away with the rainbow patterned ribbon and doily like neckline, maybe it wasn't as fitting as she had wished. I find comfort knowing that my Father in Heaven knows me perfectly, as designed inside and out. So any gift from God I plan to receive with thanksgiving, using it the way intended: with honor and consideration towards the Great Giver.