Monday, August 16, 2010

Manna From Heaven - Are You Ready For It?

(Written February, 2007)

On a recent visit to the Double Z Ranch, a nickname for the home of my friends in San Marcos, California, something quite commonplace happened that later turned into a profound awareness.

I was out on the back patio talking with another guest, who we shall call Hobbitt, absently throwing our host’s dogs (Zevon and The Mo) pieces of my breakfast. A while later and long after the food was gone, I was in mid-conversation when I felt two pairs of eyes on me and looked down. Zevon and The Mo were still gazing upward at me with hopeful smiles. It made me laugh out loud.

“Well,” Hobbitt said, putting it in perspective, “as far as they’re concerned, manna could fall from heaven at any moment and they have to be ready.”

Thinking back on his words, I applied this to life in general. Manna could fall at any moment. Should we humans be ready, expecting to catch good things?

“Manna from heaven” can take many forms, and if we’re not paying attention, we just might miss it. Manna can be the person who holds the door open for you when your hands are full. It can be the friend who picks up the tab when you’re down to your last five dollars for the week. It can be a rush of new clients calling for appointments just when you start a new business. It can be a call on Valentine’s Day from one of your long-time buddies, just to let you know he’s thinking of you before his evening music gig. Or it can go beyond the concrete … such as the life-changing inspiration I got from a client the other day.

Here is how it happened:

Walking down the spa corridor, I could tell they were one of those rare couples who are crazy for one another (even ten years after their marriage) when she turned and smiled at him before disappearing around a corner. My client, her husband, smiled an endearing smile right back at her.

Throughout his massage, he asked the usual polite things guests often do, and shared a lot about himself. He seemed so laid back and content with life. Very easygoing and humble. But most of what he shared was about his wife—how smart she was, the successful business she was running, the places they traveled, how much she made him laugh, and how in awe of her he was about this and that.

Halfway through the massage I told him, “You know, you’re inspirational to me. You are so complimentary about your wife…and while many people often forget the marital vow of Honor, sounds like you got that one mastered.”

“Well, she makes it easy,” he told me.

Remembering my new standard for myself, I asked him, “When you met her, did you feel that she was your winning lottery ticket?”

“Definitely,” was his immediate reply. “I wondered why I could never get close to any of the other girls I dated. I started to think maybe something was wrong with ME. Then, after I met her, I knew why none of the others worked. I knew right that she was the one who was best for me.”

Digesting his words, I had a few internal ones of my own. Ah-ha! Guys like you are out there. I knew it. There may not be many of you, but you exist. And it’s not asking for too much to find you, either, because you are in the same boat I am…waiting for the one who’s that “special blend.”

My “manna” that day was a living example of how finally meeting the one who’s best for me will explain why all the others were not. An example of how some things might take a long time. An example of how high the bar must be raised…and a reminder to keep the faith.

That was the best “manna” that fell from heaven for me this past week. And I snapped it right up.

What was your manna?

Namaste, baby!

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