Seeing as how I’m bombing out like Perry Como at a punk rock concert, I decide to get down to brass tacks, “So, what we have here is basically some blatant pandering for a graduation gift. These people, who we knew for all of two months, have managed to remember us just long enough to hit us up for a gift.”

The acid toned response I received said it all, “We get a Christmas letter from them each year telling us how well they’re doing, and they even include a picture so that we can see how fast little Roscoe is growing.”

I sagely reply, “Well, little Roscoe means nothing to me, so let’s get out as light as we can on gift - maybe a gift box of assorted socks?”

With ice dripping off each and every word, she frozenly replies, “Edward, my God, that’s so crass, we will certainly do better than that for little Roscoe. I was thinking maybe we’d give him a subscription to Wall Street Journal - he‘s going to take business in college, you know.”

“Hell, I don’t even get Wall Street Journal! And this little two month old drooler will?”

At this point, I size up her facial expression and figure that shutting up and quietly absorbing my impending financial wound was best. So, I slunk off into den, pulled out my Stevie Ray Vaughan biography, plopped down into a chair, and started reading. And one thing I discovered about Stevie Ray while reading about his life made me smile - we all know he was a great guitar player, we all know he was a great performer, but one of best things about Stevie Ray was that he never graduated from high school, which means that he didn’t force a bunch of his distant friends and relatives to buy him cuff links, dorm refrigerators, or watches far nicer than this 1986 Timex that I currently have on my wrist!

Love, is bonding of souls, each complimenting other, so they become as one entity or being. It is akin to mystery of trilogy of God, and of trilogy of humans, each part separate, yet as one, within that realm of bonding. They cannot be separate, yet each facet or segment is independent of other, and is an entity all to itself.

Love, is creation of all things, giving of all things, eternal living of all things. It is rich harmony of sense, and being. In measure to which we seek and live life, without pain and sorrow, yet it is a part of it, as we long for simplicity of acceptance, understanding, and to be loved by another, in a fellowship that knows no boundaries of time or space, or limitations. It is without cost, but priceless, yet freely given, or received. It is enrichment, of what we are, and who we are, as viewed from without, or from within. It goes to core, within those walls we build to keep others out, probing gently soul of another, in full revelation of what they are, without judgment, and with understanding. It then nurtures growth, gives encouragement, and brings peace, within.

©1/29/04 Jon C. Randall -All Rights Reserved- JonRandall@joshcomm.org www.joshcomm.org