Reflections Of A Spoon

I am a simple stainless steel spoon. I lay flat in a kitchen pull-out drawer along with others similar in form and nature. When my services are needed, I am removed by my human and placed unceremoniously within hands reach. It may not sound glamorous; however, I feel honored to have companioned with the humans generation after generation. I have set as they gather at simple meals of bread and juice, feasts of steak and lobster, and banquets filled with toasts and candlelight. On occasion, while doing so, I contemplate the human’s mannerisms, their conversation, their interaction.

It has been interesting to see the change that occurs in people over years. In addition to the household of my personal human, I have observed others in the course of interaction. During these events, I have made mental note concerning their physical as well as spiritual worlds.

I have witnessed three-fold characteristics of the role and use of a spoon in the lives of humans. Some transition through all three. Some never leave the first. Some never find the last. Life is what they make it. As a spoon, I cannot dictate change.

The human is generally quite young when they first encounter a  spoon. They grasp our handles in an awkward clenched fist fashion. With bowl straight up and handle vertical, the grip is often tight. In the first facet, we are only an instrument for achieving satisfaction. Used correctly as a tool, we provide nourishment, bringing a food source to their mouth. Used improperly, we become a gavel to demand attention, a catapult to send unwanted objects through the air, or we ourselves become an instrument in flight.

As years go on, the human might make much less of a mess with their spoon, but the use is strictly for personal satisfaction. We have been slurped with, stirred with, scooped with. I personally have dug into moist garden dirt and mixed a rainbow of paint colors.

If a spoon is compared to a spiritual tool, our purpose to those with immaturity is very much the same. As we are pointed in the direction of their need, they scoop up a desired portion and feed themselves. The object of  desire could be money. It might be fleshly desires, beauty, or objects of worth. I have observed over the years that in their rawest form, humans simply want things. Just as my utilitarian job is to bring food to their mouths, so too does the spiritual spoon become a gathering instrument for the lust of human kind.

The second facet sometimes emerges slowly. Over time, and after much self retrospection, some humans transition completely onto the plane where the importance of their spoon is sharing as when a new mother selectively chooses a morsel from her own plate and lovingly spoons it out to her young child. I have observed this between couples who share a bite of delicious desert with one plate and a single spoon. No longer is the spoon held like a weapon for gouging. Now we are held loosely between the fingers gliding gently across the surface of the dish delivering a delightful experience to the beneficiary.

So too, with the spiritual shared spoon. Humans dish out love and kindness. They share relationships. They share concern. They are prepared to sweep down with a spoonful of joy to deposit onto another’s waiting plate. Once a human has transitioned to this level, the spiritual spooning is so much more palatable. Oh, the pleasure that can be transferred from one human to another. Oh how tasty is that special moment when the spoon works thusly.

Finally, there is the third facet of spooning. Strangely enough, here the spoon is temporarily set aside. Most humans do not require constant gratification. They have been created in such a fashion that their needs can become met. A feeling of fullness and satisfaction sweeps over them and they are able to relax and lay their spoon down. They are nourished and fully able to go on with the tasks at hand. The spoon is no longer essential. It has provided what was necessary for the moment.

How does this concept apply to the spiritual life of the human? At what point must they lay their spoon down and be satisfied. Oh, my precious human, it is when they are before the throne of their creator. At that time, the human will set aside the spoon that previously was necessary in fulfilling those numerous earthly desires. It is at this moment that they turn their face toward Heaven and allow the Spirit of the Living Lord to move over them. There is a completeness, a oneness, a level of peace that comes from the Holy Spirit that no spoon, whether man-made or spiritual, can achieve. I wonder at the marvelous gift all humans have offered to them if they only are receptive.

My own human transitions between the tri-planed pyramid of spoon roles. As time has gone on, she places me down a whole lot more. I can tell that she tries to use me for sharing, but there are those moments when she resorts to infancy, banging me on the table of life and demanding her share.  Sometimes, I look on and cringe when she expects and pouts after her own way!

I like it most when we sit quietly in the early morning sunlight. I linger beside her folded hands. She does not pick me up. Instead, she lowers her head. With eyes closed, I see a special softness come slowly over her face. When that happens, I know her maker has taken my place. He has cupped His hands and spooned Himself into her. She is satisfied and He has filled her up!