This time, they found him by the river.
He always came in the evening, just before the sun went down. Sometimes, they heard him first, moving through the brush and they’d follow the sound until they caught up. Sometimes, he’d sneak up behind them, surprising them and they’d begin their visit with laughing together.
Long, long ago, I was alone and I was enough. I was three and one as I am and will be and I, together filled all that could ever be.
The Speaker and the Word, and the Spirit who flows in and out and in them both.
The Spirit and the Speaker, and the Word who is the expression of them both.
The Word and the Spirit, and the Speaker, who is the source of them both.
And we were as we are as we will always be.
And we love our three selves with love to spare, so we decided to create a life to share our love. Like us, but different. Like us, but so much smaller. Like us, but separate. Like us, and able to choose to love us back...
There was no place for our new small life to be so we made a universe.
The Spirit waited and hovered, ready to begin until The Speaker spoke, “Let light be.” And the Word went out and made light be. Light and dark, energy and matter, time and space, shining and reflecting…”
The man interrupted, “What does a universe look like?”
“Like a field that never ends. A river, a lake. A blade of grass, twisted and folded back on itself. Beautiful, but loveless.
So we said, “This is good, so far.”
The universe, though very small, was too large for our new life, so we looked down, down, down into it and chose one place somewhere near the centre. We chose one cluster of suns, then one sun, then one world circling it and we reached into that tiny planet and arranged the air and the water just so to fit our new life. It looked like a blue pearl, full of the future. Beautiful, but loveless…
“Are there many suns?” asked the woman.
“Too many to count. And we said, “This is good, so far.”
Again, the Speaker spoke. He spoke dry ground and the Word went out and pushed and pulled dry ground up from under the depths of water. He made the land to shape the water and the water to shape the land. And the Spirit danced across the land in anticipation.
Again, the Speaker spoke. He spoke "First life", and the Word made first life live. All of the green plants that you have ever seen and so many more. Trees and flowers, moss and seaweed, fruit and medicines, vines and moulds. It was alive, but still loveless.
So we said, “This is good, so far.”
Again, the Speaker spoke "Light", and the Word went out and with a stroke, prepared the sky for what would come. He arranged in the sky the lights that make you raise your eyes in wonder. The light that fuels life. The lights that stir your soul and make you sing. The lights that tell of times and seasons. And all together, the lights speak of the Speaker…”
“Sometimes, I can’t stop staring at the stars,” said the man, face turned up to the twilight. “They take my breath away.”
“Good. That’s what we were going for. And we said, “This is good, so far.”
Again, the Speaker spoke "Life", and the Word went out and took the colours of the world and shaped them into birds and fish. Every colour, every shape, every size. Fish that fly through the water, birds that swim through the air, birds that dive into the water, fish that leap in the air. Indescribable, and glorious. Alive, and with something like love, but with no choice.
And we said, “This is good, so far.”
Again, the Speaker spoke "Life", and the Word went out and imagined and shaped and brought to life every land animal that you have ever seen and so many more. Every size and shape, running, leaping, digging, building. And they walked and crawled and climbed and swam. But they weren’t able to love us.
And the angels danced because the Spirit danced with joy and anticipation until the Speaker spoke again. "Life".
And the Word went out and shaped one more life. One last creation above them all. One last life to dwell in the deepest place in my heart. The two who were like the One who is three. And the Spirit himself gave them breath.
So I created you in my own image,
in the image of myself I created you;
male and female I created you.
To be fruitful and increase in number; to fill the earth and subdue it.
To rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.
I gave you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it to be yours for food to share with all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground.
And we gave you the freedom to choose to love.
And we said, “This is very good. And it’s finished.”
And we rested.”
____________________________
Having told his story, the One looked at the woman and asked, “Well?”
She answered, “I think I know what it is. The story ends, but it isn’t finished, is it? There’s so much more than what we see here, like other suns and other worlds and where do you go when you leave us? Can’t we come, too? What happens next? To us and to the world? How does the story really end?”
The One looked at her from out of some deep place and whispered, “So soon?”
He always came in the evening, just before the sun went down. Sometimes, they heard him first, moving through the brush and they’d follow the sound until they caught up. Sometimes, he’d sneak up behind them, surprising them and they’d begin their visit with laughing together.
But often, he turned up by the river. Below the waterfall, where the grass was soft. Where he’d taught them to find clay and shape it, and to dry the reeds and weave them and to skip rocks and to swim.
Tonight, he was sitting on the grass, his back against a tree, feet dangling in the water. His hands were working a lump of clay that he’d dug up from the bank and he smiled up at them as they came.
The man and the woman sat down, too, he with his back to a sun-warmed rock, she beside him, leaning.
“What would you like to talk about tonight?” asked the One, who was just The One.
The man glanced at the woman and, when she shrugged, he said, “You could tell us the story again.”
“Again?” The woman laughed. “What is it with you and that story?”
He said, “I just like it. I like the way it ends.”
She said, “That’s because you think it ends where you come in.”
“Very funny, woman.”
The One, who was just The One, laughed and said to the woman, “And do you like the way it ends?”
She thought for a moment. “I’m not sure. There’s something… I’m just not sure.”
“If you're not sure, then I must tell it again…
Tonight, he was sitting on the grass, his back against a tree, feet dangling in the water. His hands were working a lump of clay that he’d dug up from the bank and he smiled up at them as they came.
The man and the woman sat down, too, he with his back to a sun-warmed rock, she beside him, leaning.
“What would you like to talk about tonight?” asked the One, who was just The One.
The man glanced at the woman and, when she shrugged, he said, “You could tell us the story again.”
“Again?” The woman laughed. “What is it with you and that story?”
He said, “I just like it. I like the way it ends.”
She said, “That’s because you think it ends where you come in.”
“Very funny, woman.”
The One, who was just The One, laughed and said to the woman, “And do you like the way it ends?”
She thought for a moment. “I’m not sure. There’s something… I’m just not sure.”
“If you're not sure, then I must tell it again…
________________________________
Long, long ago, I was alone and I was enough. I was three and one as I am and will be and I, together filled all that could ever be.
The Speaker and the Word, and the Spirit who flows in and out and in them both.
The Spirit and the Speaker, and the Word who is the expression of them both.
The Word and the Spirit, and the Speaker, who is the source of them both.
And we were as we are as we will always be.
And we love our three selves with love to spare, so we decided to create a life to share our love. Like us, but different. Like us, but so much smaller. Like us, but separate. Like us, and able to choose to love us back...
There was no place for our new small life to be so we made a universe.
The Spirit waited and hovered, ready to begin until The Speaker spoke, “Let light be.” And the Word went out and made light be. Light and dark, energy and matter, time and space, shining and reflecting…”
The man interrupted, “What does a universe look like?”
“Like a field that never ends. A river, a lake. A blade of grass, twisted and folded back on itself. Beautiful, but loveless.
So we said, “This is good, so far.”
The universe, though very small, was too large for our new life, so we looked down, down, down into it and chose one place somewhere near the centre. We chose one cluster of suns, then one sun, then one world circling it and we reached into that tiny planet and arranged the air and the water just so to fit our new life. It looked like a blue pearl, full of the future. Beautiful, but loveless…
“Are there many suns?” asked the woman.
“Too many to count. And we said, “This is good, so far.”
Again, the Speaker spoke. He spoke dry ground and the Word went out and pushed and pulled dry ground up from under the depths of water. He made the land to shape the water and the water to shape the land. And the Spirit danced across the land in anticipation.
Again, the Speaker spoke. He spoke "First life", and the Word made first life live. All of the green plants that you have ever seen and so many more. Trees and flowers, moss and seaweed, fruit and medicines, vines and moulds. It was alive, but still loveless.
So we said, “This is good, so far.”
Again, the Speaker spoke "Light", and the Word went out and with a stroke, prepared the sky for what would come. He arranged in the sky the lights that make you raise your eyes in wonder. The light that fuels life. The lights that stir your soul and make you sing. The lights that tell of times and seasons. And all together, the lights speak of the Speaker…”
“Sometimes, I can’t stop staring at the stars,” said the man, face turned up to the twilight. “They take my breath away.”
“Good. That’s what we were going for. And we said, “This is good, so far.”
Again, the Speaker spoke "Life", and the Word went out and took the colours of the world and shaped them into birds and fish. Every colour, every shape, every size. Fish that fly through the water, birds that swim through the air, birds that dive into the water, fish that leap in the air. Indescribable, and glorious. Alive, and with something like love, but with no choice.
And we said, “This is good, so far.”
Again, the Speaker spoke "Life", and the Word went out and imagined and shaped and brought to life every land animal that you have ever seen and so many more. Every size and shape, running, leaping, digging, building. And they walked and crawled and climbed and swam. But they weren’t able to love us.
And the angels danced because the Spirit danced with joy and anticipation until the Speaker spoke again. "Life".
And the Word went out and shaped one more life. One last creation above them all. One last life to dwell in the deepest place in my heart. The two who were like the One who is three. And the Spirit himself gave them breath.
So I created you in my own image,
in the image of myself I created you;
male and female I created you.
To be fruitful and increase in number; to fill the earth and subdue it.
To rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.
I gave you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it to be yours for food to share with all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground.
And we gave you the freedom to choose to love.
And we said, “This is very good. And it’s finished.”
And we rested.”
____________________________
Having told his story, the One looked at the woman and asked, “Well?”
She answered, “I think I know what it is. The story ends, but it isn’t finished, is it? There’s so much more than what we see here, like other suns and other worlds and where do you go when you leave us? Can’t we come, too? What happens next? To us and to the world? How does the story really end?”
The One looked at her from out of some deep place and whispered, “So soon?”
Then he said to her, “There's truth in what you say. The story will end someday, but not yet. Not for a long time. Much will happen. Much will change. Much will have to be done. But it will end and you will be there to see it.”
He set down his clay, pulled his feet from the river, leaned toward her taking her hand and, again, whispered, “Please, my child, please don’t be in too much of a hurry for what comes next. You don’t know what it will cost. Enjoy what is for as long as it is. But know this. Whatever happens, I will love you. Whatever you choose, you will be mine. Wherever you are, look for me and I will come for you.”
With that, he stood up, and stepped out onto the river.
He set down his clay, pulled his feet from the river, leaned toward her taking her hand and, again, whispered, “Please, my child, please don’t be in too much of a hurry for what comes next. You don’t know what it will cost. Enjoy what is for as long as it is. But know this. Whatever happens, I will love you. Whatever you choose, you will be mine. Wherever you are, look for me and I will come for you.”
With that, he stood up, and stepped out onto the river.
The man and the woman watched, each in their own silence as the One, who is just The One, walked upstream and disappeared into the waterfall.