THE BREAD FROM THE FLOUR OF LOVE

There once lived a man, who had seven sons, but not a single daughter. Even though his wife was exhausted from frequent child-bearing, the man continued to dream of the day when his wife would give birth to a girl.

With her endless chores and responsibilities as a mother of seven boys, the wife was overwhelmed with despair and drained of all energy.  Finally, in utter desperation, she prayed to God to have mercy on her by guiding her husband to give up his obsession to have a daughter.

God was moved to see how her once beautiful face had crippled under her burdens.  He almost didn’t recognize her, even though He had crafted her as His divine gift to her husband for being a patient servant to Him.

In response to her prayers, God instructed the woman to send her husband to Him at sunrise.

The man was thrilled to learn that God had summoned him.  He prepared for the blessed meeting by grooming himself well and wearing his finest clothes.  He asked his wife to bake the most delicious bread for offering to God.

Upon daybreak the man took to the road. He was ecstatic at the thought of God inviting him for a meeting.  He felt honoured and special for this privilege.  In his euphoria, he became so self-absorbed that he didn’t even notice the morning dewdrops that sang to him like little tinklers among the green lush blades of grass, nor did he notice flower buds about to blossom upon the rise of the Sun, or birds that flapped their wings to create the flow of wind for a fresher, cooler journey, or the soft sand on the road that supported his feet for an easier walk. All he could think of was his impending meeting with God.

When the man finally arrived, he found a big lock on the door to God’s house.  The house was totally quite and deserted.

The man thought God was probably engaged in His morning chores and was running a bit late. He sat on God’s porch determined to wait for Him. He sat there day and night without noticing how time passed by. All he saw was God honouring him when they would finally meet.

Time passed unnoticed, but God did not return.

Then he started to feel hungry. The smell of the bread baked by his wife spread everywhere. His hunger was unbearable. The man took the bread out of the towel woven and embroidered by his wife; he broke off small pieces and put them on his tongue. The bread melted like honey in his mouth and suddenly the man saw a green sunny valley, a river of clearest water and a fine woman who drew water into her pitcher from it. That was the vision of the day when he had seen his wife for the very first time.

He saw his wedding day; that gentle look of his wife, that touch of her hand that soothed his soul.  He saw his wife sitting day and night by his bed when he was sick and holding her cool, pale hand to his forehead to ease the fever heat.

He remembered the taste of food that his wife gave him each day with such love and tenderness, and best of wishes.

He remembered the birth of each of his children when despite the great pain his wife preserved her calm and loving demeanour.

He remembered all the moments when he was happy, because this woman given to him by God was simply beside him.

Tears ran down his cheeks. He saw how blind he had been trying to find God where He wasn’t. God was by his wife all this time.

The man rose and ran home.

Upon entering his house, he saw God sitting next to his wife, sipping tea and enjoying cakes baked by her.

At once, the man fell at his wife’s feet, bathing them in his tears, and sought her forgiveness for his blindness and insensitivity towards her.  The wife put her cool, pale hand on the man’s head and he felt calm at once. He felt love and peace filling up his heart.  It was the blessing that his wife always guarded in her heart to share with people around her.

God rose from the table, thanked the lady for the sweet breads and headed for the door. The man stayed kneeling in front of his wife.

When God was going through the door the man said quietly: “Thank You God for opening my eyes.”

God smiled fondly and before walking away said: “It wasn’t I who opened your eyes, but your wife’s baked bread that is made from the flour of peace and love. Your wife has returned in your life, because she is My gift to you, that you had once deserved. Let peace and love follow you and your family, because God is there where love is.”

In almost every discourse, Bhagavan Baba emphasises this principle of selfless and unconditional love which is equal to the Divine. Love is selflessness, Baba says and adds, “Love is God, Live in Love.” One must always be grateful for all the ‘loves’ that fill our lives everyday in the form of mother, father, sister, brother, wife, grandmother and so on. They are all gifts of God and only when we treasure these gifts and love them sincerely, will God love us increasingly.

- by Ms. Rita Ivanova, Latvia
Illustration: Mrs. Lyn, New Zealand

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- Heart2Heart Team