God blesses Abraham
that he should have everything
Everything!
And we’re commanded not to covet
but I wouldn’t mind being Abraham;
getting that blessing
I’d like to have everything too
The promise of a legacy
The sense of purpose and direction
The comfort of knowing I’ll be taken care of
The happy endings
Or wait, did he end happily? Perhaps not,
estranged from his son;
widowed and alone. . .
So he didn’t have everything then
or else “everything” means something different
than all things
or
all desired things
or
all expected things
Most of what Abraham is promised he won’t live to see
He has to have faith
that his progeny will have progeny
that his legacy will last
that the struggle was worth it
(It was, wasn’t it?)
Maybe that was his final test of faith -
the one they don’t talk about -
having faith that “everything” is possible
even when you’re old and dying and alone;
that “everything”
includes
what you once had
what you hope to have
what you don’t know you have
and might never know you had
Did Old Abe die content in that knowledge?
Can I be content in that knowledge?
Can I redefine my need for “everything”?
Can I adjust my perceptions?
Can I be grateful for now
for this moment
for what I know I have?
Can I be satisfied?
Can some of everything be enough?
Bless me God
that I might have everything
like Abe
even when I don’t have it
even when I don’t know it
Bless me,
that what is within
myself
my grasp
my perception
might feel like everything
Even for just a moment
before the cravings set in again
-EKG’17