Painting Fiasco

I laid the five oil paintings out on the living room floor, wondering why they were delivered to my house.

“Maybe Clint bought them as a going-away surprise,” my friend, Regina, suggested.

“No, I know my husband and he wouldn’t do that,” I replied. “But maybe he received them as a gift.”

I stared at the works of art in front of me. Were they a gift or did they accidentally get sent to the wrong house? Our name was on the package slip so they must be for us. Bewildered, I would just have to wait until Clint called from Europe to unravel this mystery.

“They are beautiful, especially the ones with darker colors,” Regina said as she admired the different pieces.

“Really? You like those? They are my least favorites, and I probably wouldn’t even hang them up. You can have them if you want them,” I offered.

“Talk to Clint first and let me know later,” she said rushing out the door.

As I thought about the particular piece that I liked, how I would frame it, and where I would hang it in my house, Clint called.

I immediately interrogated him, “Did you buy those paintings or were they a gift from someone? Why didn’t you tell me about them? How much did they cost?“

There was silence as my husband digested my questions and then realized what I was talking about.

“Paintings? Oh, those paintings. Those aren’t ours. Remember I told you that a friend at work purchased them, and then sent them to us so we could include them in our sea shipment to Germany.”

“They’re not ours?” I asked disappointed. “I was already planning on framing one tomorrow, plus I gave two of them to Regina!”

After hanging up the phone, I quickly picked the pieces off the floor, placed them back up in their original container, and tucked them away for safe keeping. Since they weren’t mine, and obviously very expensive, I didn’t want anything to happen to them.

Recounting the story to Regina and some other friends over dinner, we all had a good laugh. Later, Regina kindly refused my earlier offer of the paintings since I didn’t actually own them. When she did that, the thought occurred to me: You can’t give away what you don’t possess.

As I pondered that thought for several days, I realized there was a spiritual lesson in there as well. If I do not possess spiritual wisdom, knowledge or insight, how can I possibly give that away to others? How can I pass on spiritual truths and understanding to my children, my friends, or even strangers if I do not possess them in my own mind and heart?

These days, I’m not as quick to give material items away - I’ve learned my lesson in that area. However, when it comes to spiritual matters, I’m more than happy to give away the insights and knowledge God has shown me and I keep going back for more.