She was my very best friend and I wanted to do something extra special to show her my love. I worked tirelessly for days on end. This was to be the most beautiful, elegant dress she had ever owned. Many hours of careful thought had gone into every detail of the design. I had thrown out plans and started from scratch more times than I cared to remember, until I had finally arrived at a style I knew she would absolutely love. The carefully chosen fabric suited her tastes perfectly. The material was light and comfortable and the color was one that everyone said made her look vibrant and alive. Usually when I sewed, I simply tried to get the task done as quickly as possible. Not this time, however. I wanted her to know that she was worth the extra minutes it took for me to make sure every stitch was even. This dress was an expression of my love and care for her, and I wanted her to know how much I delighted in our friendship. Finally, the dress was finished. Early the next morning, I very carefully wrapped it and, with great anticipation, hand-delivered it to her. The delight on her face and the tears in her eyes were all the gratitude I needed, but she then proceeded to shower me with praises. It was wonderful to know I had pleased her so much and I looked forward to sharing many more memories with her. Little did I know, this would be one of the last times I ever saw her. I went home later that day and didn't hear from her for quite some time. Whenever I called to see if she wanted to go to lunch or go shopping, she always said she was busy. But apparently, she liked the dress, because I heard she spent lengths of time looking at it, trying it on in front of the mirror, or buying accessories to match it. During the rare times that we actually got the chance to talk, the subject was always the dress. She no longer received delight in our friendship or desired for us to grow closer together. The gift, a piece of material that would one day fall apart, had taken place of the giver. Although this story isn't true and may be viewed as an extreme example, it is nonetheless a picture of how we often treat our Heavenly Father. He has blessed us with so many gifts and so many expressions of His intense love for us. We shower Him with praise for a short time and then forget about Him as we become enamored with the gift. Money, sexual desires, careers, friendships, material goods, and physical appearance are all examples of His generosity, but they are also all gifts we so easily turn to for pleasure. "You created nothing that gives me more pleasure than You. And You won't give me something that gives me more pleasure than You." These lyrics, by Caedmon's Call, sum up exactly what the Lord desires for us to learn and live. As singles, it is especially easy to find ourselves living from one gift to the next, to do what feels good at the time, and to find pleasure in the temporary. We need to understand that true pleasure is only found in the Lord. He alone satisfies every spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental need we will ever have and absolutely nothing compares to knowing Him. May Psalm 73:25 be the cry of our hearts: "Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth." (NASB) |
