May 1, 2009
The Second Half
Useful gifts
BY DEACON JIM AND ANN CAVERA
We have been thinking about buying a small wheelbarrow on sale at the local hardware store. We don’t have any specific reason. We just think it might come in handy for some of the projects we have in mind. After all, those of us who were brought up by parents who lived through the Great Depression were taught do as much as we possibly could for ourselves. This kind of thinking extends to every area of our lives. Do we want a great meal? Get out the cookbooks. We know how to change the oil in the car and add anti-freeze for the winter. No matter what we might need, the first thought has always been how can we do it ourselves? Where can we get the freshest vegetables? Plant a garden.
This particular line of thinking is becoming less attractive as we grow older. We looked at our yard this year and realized some heavy digging and raking needed to be done. Neither of us wanted to do it. We hired a man who came with his son and daughter and together they finished in three hours what would have taken us weeks to accomplish. The man and his grown children were grateful for the work. We were glad we decided not to do it ourselves. If they help us again, they might enjoy using our little wheelbarrow.
These weeks of Easter seem an especially appropriate time to be grateful for the gift of things we don’t have to do for ourselves. Above all of God’s wonderful gifts, the most magnificent is the gift of salvation. In our drive for achievement we sometimes fail to appreciate that salvation is something far beyond our ability to give ourselves. Through the gift of salvation we have eternal life, the presence of the Holy Spirit within us, and a loving faith-filled community as company for the journey.
What does God expect us to do with such a magnificent gift? Theologian Father Michael Himes has said, “When we speak about grace and salvation, we are really speaking about God’s love made visible in the world.” Like the wheelbarrow we plan to give ourselves, the gift of salvation is meant to be used. God is counting on those of us who have received his gift to make love visible in the world.
During a marriage preparation workshop last Saturday, we tried to give young couples a sense of marriage as both a gift and an opportunity to make love visible. We sometimes forget that God’s gifts come with wheelbarrows marked with labels like “forgiveness” and “self-sacrifice.” When the wheelbarrows are put to good use beautiful things like love, joy and peace grow in abundance.
Now that the digging and raking have been done for us, we will use our new wheelbarrow to haul plants, mulch and fertilizer to create the garden we have in mind. After all, not being put to good use is the worst thing that can happen to a wheelbarrow or to our salvation.
Deacon Jim and Ann Cavera are former residents of Evansville; their award-winning column is a regular feature of the Message. Contact them at www.catholicseniorspirit.com.