Skip to main content

Him as hero not author: Act I

   It is as every lover wishes: their gift to be accepted and cherished. I was always one for accepting the gift of someone graciously. I remember, when my parents had but little money, they would give me and Andy things that perhaps they couldn't afford, and we never once accepted with anything less than humility. We were taught that gifts are to be accepted whole-heartedly.
   So it was with him. All he wanted was for the one he loved to accept what was most perfect. And, in the beginning, his lover did. It was easy. Because when things are easy it isn't hard to accept...anything. In fact, when things are easy, it is quite simple to accept without reproach.
   Love is simple, or is it? He was always meant to be the hero of her story. He was always meant to be the best lover. He was always meant to be the best. But, his lover demeaned him. It wasn't hard though. Because when we humans are given perfect, we doubt intention. We begin to believe that things are: "too good to be true." And, sometimes they are. But, they weren't for his lover because he was true. All of him was truth.
    Have you ever walked down a lane with trees over hanging and the sun glistening though the branches? Have you ever stood on the bank of a small creek with nothing but the sound of nature to lull you into silence and awe? What is our first thought? Do we not desire, in that moment, to share it with someone? So, it was with him. All he wanted was for his lover to stand, hold his hand, and breathe the same peace that he breathed. So he lead his beloved to the banks, and he took off the blindfold...
    And he gave man paradise. God is the lover. We are the loved. How is it that so often we sympathize with a hero of a story but not the author? Do we forget that the author is the one who bred the hero? Do we forget that the author is the one who walked, lived, and carried the hero through the crags and valleys only to allow him to soar above the mountains?
    I am beginning to see things a bit different. God not as author but as hero. When we see the Father as hero of this "grander story" we see that in Act I of this story...the lover gives his beloved everything that is good. God gave us all that was good. As a parent gives their child their first bike, or as a man gives his fiance her engagement ring, so God gave us himself...and the garden. And the question on the lover's mind was this: do you like it? Is it good enough? Am I good enough?
    God is hero...God is lover...and he gave all.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Beneath the Weeping Willow

  "The willow submits to the wind and prospers until one day it is many willows—a wall against the wind. This is the willow's purpose." —  Frank Herbert, Dune   Time, although a very evasive concept, is in each moment a gift. And most often, I don't stop to look back at the road I have traveled on. Even more so, the road Justin and I have travelled together. But today it is warranted. Today marks 9 years as husband and wife, and 9 years of truly some amazing and adverse moments. We have lost the most cherished and birthed the most loved all the while interwoven with each other.    I will be the first to admit that our day to day appears to some: mundane. However, inside the ordinary he and I together have understood the profundity of love. It is brash and loud, but it is also cautious and quiet.  "Love is a many splendored thing."  It is the true basis of community, and I am proud of the community we have built.   The  willow  is the t...

A human mirror

  I look at myself, a lot. I think it has something to do with the fact that I didn't think myself attractive for a long time. Now, I can look at myself even when someone else is in the bathroom. Before, I entered with head bowed and left the same. There are times when I look at myself 3 times before I leave. Most of the time, I focus on one aspect of myself: my eyes, my hair, my waist line, my clothes...something. I can see how this seems egotistical, but perhaps I am making up for lost mirror time.   However, I can only remember one time that I actually looked into the mirror to see something deeper than my outward appearance. And it scared me. I honestly didn't think it was possible to look into the mirror and truly see oneself. It always seemed so cliché. Until I did it.   That was 4 months ago. The moment I decided to walk away from a "relationship" that was nothing more than a confusing drag. It held me bound and clipped the wings I knew God had given me to f...

It's the underlying peace...

For some reason, dating my first boyfriend was hard. I was 21; he was 18. We were together for maybe 2 months. I am even reluctant to call him my boyfriend. Classic story of he wanted me; I was bored...voila. And not too long before I broke it off, I found myself in the sacristy talking to my then pastor. I was confused and hurt. I honestly can't even remember why. But he changed me that day.   He told me this: when he was discerning the priesthood two weeks prior to ordination, he struggled. He struggled so much he was beginning to believe his choice of vocation was wrong. His spiritual director at the time told him to pray. He told him to spend one solid week praying as though he was going to leave formation. Leaning all prayer toward that thought. Then, he told him to pray the next solid week as though he was going to stay and become the priest that he believed, at one point, he was supposed to be.   And as he prayed, he struggled. His mind wanted to wander and his desire...