The Parable of the Gift

For the Sake of...

We play a game, God and me. This is how it goes:

He gives me a gift (an idea) and says to me, “What would you make of it, my love?”

“A gift! What would I make of it, you say?”

I take it in my hands,

add a bit of this,

take away some of that,

add a different color there.

When I’m quite sure I’ve thought of everything I can think of, I package it all up and place it back in God’s hands and say, “That’s what I would make of it. And now it’s your turn, Lord.”

“A gift!” God says. “What would I make of it? Hmmmm...”

He puts it on His potters’ wheel,

swirls it around, twists it a bit here,

pokes a hole in there,

and pours in love.

Then He hands it back to me.

“A gift!” I say. What would I do with it!”

I add my love.

I think about gentleness and …

and gentleness makes me think of kindness …

and so I pat gentleness and shape kindness into it,

and stand back for a better view, squinting my eyes.

Nodding my head, I say, “Yes, that’s quite all I can think of.”

Back it goes into God’s hands, who says,

“A gift! What would I make of it?

Well…I think I’ll divide it

into several smaller pieces

and add more love to each.”

He hands the broken pieces back to me, and says,

“A gift, my love. What would you make of it?”

I stand there with the hot tears flowing down my cheeks,

and the pain still echoing in my chest,

for my very heart of hearts was wrapped in that gift,

and now it too is ripped asunder and in each little piece.

I lift up my head and cry aloud,

“But it’s broken! I can’t do anything with it!

In the deepening silence it’s as though God is waiting –

just quietly waiting.

I cry a bit more,

and then…

“Lord...Lord,…could you,

could you maybe help me make something of it…

Please?”

God cries, “A gift! What will we make of it you say?”

I look around and for the first time

I see other broken hearts, lonely faces, hurting souls.

I hear an idea, and I say:

“Ohhhhhhhhh…A gift!”

I dry my tears and pick up each broken piece and add…

understanding.

I give this piece to this person,

that piece to the next,

the third to the other,

and so on until I’ve given them all away…

What is this surprise in my heart?

…a new wholeness that is somehow more whole than before!

I smile with excitement,

and I pick up that new wholeness and say,

“A gift! What would I make of it you say?”

© 2024 Dorothy Gremillion