The JOY Collection- Chapter Two

Extravagant Love

There stands a 12 year-old boy in front of a massive boulder. One day, he awoke and felt a pull to this exact location. He places his small, young, fresh hand against the rock and smiles. He instantly knows what to do. He runs home, looks in an abandoned toolbox, and finds a hammer and chisel. He runs back to the rock. He knows that something worthwhile lies inside this hard, stubborn rock that has existed for millions and millions of years. He can see it. He can feel it. He hears its’ heartbeat. The thought of him holding it in his hand gives him the strength to deliver the first blow. 

Bang!

A small chip of rock falls off. The size does not matter! He knows it will take time and time he freely has. This young boy knows without a doubt that this…this work is what he was placed here for and trust in it completely. He hits it again. 

Bang! Each strike with excitement. 

“Closer…I’m one piece closer!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“I’m coming for you! And you will be just for me, too!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He hits and carves his way until a visible dent is made and night is upon him. Satisfied with his work, he places his instruments in his pockets and heads home for dinner and sleep. His home is only for his nourishment and rest, but his purpose is at the rock. Despite his closed eyes and full belly, he longs to be back at the rock. His dreams are filled with images of his treasure. His hunger is for the greatest gift that ever existed in creation and no one else can see it but him. It will be his and his only!

He rises with the Sun. Grabs his tools. There is no time for delay. His mission drives and propels him forward to that familiar spot. He eagerly begins his work. 

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Days pass. 

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

Months pass. 

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Years and years pass. His age increases with time. His strikes deepen with the growth of strength in his muscles. He is able to make great progress day by day. Many by-standers and travelers wonder the purpose of his digging. They scream,

“What are you looking for?! There is nothing there, son!”

His reply, “Just wait and see. This treasure is meant just for me!”

They call him crazy, delirious, possessed, delusional. Even some take pity on him and offer other tools to help. They present him with “advanced tools”, rock-crushing machinery, and even dynamite saying, 

“Please, take this young man. It will be quicker and easier. Don’t use all your strength. You will die of exhaustion!”

His only reply, “Just wait and see. I am willingly to sacrifice all of me!”

You see, this young man has wisdom beyond the numerical count of his age. He knows that any tool other than his hammer and chisel will compromise the integrity of this rock and his treasure will be lost forever. Even though it is a massive and dense rock, it is still delicate like a feather floating in the wind. Care and diligence must be taken if he is to reap the rewards. He declines every offer of assistance.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Many more years pass and it shows in the color of his hair, in the waves imprinted on his skin, and in the sound of his breathing. The small indentation in the rock has turned into a narrow, mile-long tunnel. The labor of his love is felt against the hand-chiseled walls that lead into the core, the heart of the rock. Every hit, now, is made softly as he feels he is in the vicinity of his adorned treasure. The rock is not as dense and it crumbles with just a finger touch. Oh, yes!  He is close indeed and tears flow with every soft, caring strike saying, 

“I’m coming for you!! And you will be just for me, too!”

Clang!

He stops.  That sound is different from the past sounds he has heard these last 40 years. That is the sound of something greater than the surrounding elements. Something is there and he knows it’s his long awaited treasure! He puts down his tools and uses his hands to push away the crumbling rock and grab the large hard mass. He holds it with both hands. It looks like another rock…dark, dull, irregular in size and shape, but his hands, his eyes, his heart sees past the outward.  The Light in him knows…this is the diamond of LOVE! 

His LIGHT meets my LOVE, triggering the end of his mission to restore that which was lost. The light explodes and passes into the large diamond. A bright beam of light projects vertically into the sky, completely absorbing the old man.. All that is left of the man and his treasure is LIGHT, illuminating the “Wellspring of Light”.

I see the light beam from the sky. I have been flying and searching for my place of wholeness and now it is clearly visible.  I fly passionately to the light beam…no matter the distance…no matter the cost.