TOKENS OF LOVE

TOKENS OF LOVE

Today at lunch, while sitting in my car, I looked up and noticed these two hand-carved pieces which are hanging from my rear view mirror.  They were crafted by my multi-talented wife and given to me as a gift.  The turtle is a symbol of long life and the hook is a symbol of prosperity (the Polynesian way of saying 'live long and prosper' 🖖 🙂).  They are beautiful, visual and tangible tokens of her love for me and her desires for success in my endeavors as I leave home each day.  And when I paused and took the time to notice them again today, it warmed my heart and filled me with appreciation for my wife.

But sadly, although I am near them every day and every time I am in my car, I often fail to recognize them or acknowledge them for what they represent.  My thoughts, vision and focus is somewhere off in the distance and engaged in other things.

How often are we that way in life?  With so many distractions and conflicts vying for our attention it is easy to get caught up in worries about finances, political divisions, civil unrest, pandemic uncertainties, and countless other issues.

And while these things sometimes require our attention, we often fail to recognize the many visible and tangible tokens of God's love for us, which surround us each day - the laughter of a child, the kindness of a smile, the light in someone's eyes, the color of a blooming flower, the song of a bird, the sound of gentle rain, a cool breeze on a warm day, or the warmth and light of the sun on a cool day, the embrace of a loved one, etc.

Regular, medatative pause and recognition of these visible and tangible tokens of God's love remind us of His presence in our world and does wonders for the soul if we but shift our focus to acknowledge them for what they are.  They are all signs of life and His love for us and were created to bring us joy.

And even more importantly,  it would do us well to more frequently pause, recognize and remember the most important Tokens of God's Love for us,  which are carved within the hands and feet of our Master,  our Savior, and our Redeemer Jesus Christ!

The tokens of His love are all around us if we will but shift our perspective to recognize them for what they are.  And by doing so, they have the power to change our hearts and fill our lives with peace, joy, happiness and a measure of His love.

And in today's crazy world, we could all use a little more of that!

(Carvings and drawing are both creations of my wife, Nikki Jensen Andreasen)