Entry 7: All Things to Enjoy The Chayot quietly welcomed me into their midst. I suppose they sensed that I was a quiet, intellectual creature, so they took me outside the temple and allowed me space to take in my beautiful new surroundings. The first thing I noticed as I looked around was that light enveloped us so that there was almost no shadow anywhere. The crystal temple that I had seen from above was massive. It stood firm within the landscape, but it also seemed to be almost permeable, as if one could walk right through its walls. The height was awe-inspiring. It was so tall that we miniscule in comparison. Set along the eastern side of the temple was a porch upon which was centered a large, ornate door. Massive, golden pillars flanked the portico. Each wall of the temple was a perfect square and the outer walls of the temple were a rich, blue-aqua color, but transparent at the same time. A brilliant, ethereal brightness emanated from within and seemed to be the source of the illumination that lit Haven. I wandered about the sprawling courtyard, absorbing the beauty of the place. Rolling mounds of vibrantly colored floral growth covered the ground. The Chayot followed me quietly and at a distance, occasionally glancing at each other, their animalian eyes smiling. There was so much detail to see. I couldn’t help myself. The joy surfaced again in my heart as I took in the rambling courtyard and all of its lush beauty. I found myself running past a low retaining wall into the adjoining grassy area, and I bounded from tree to tree, ducking branches and raking my hands across the smooth, ashy-colored bark. I skipped across the cool, emerald grass through a grove of small trees that had teardrop shaped fruit and then through a narrow grove of larger gnarly trees with round orange, yellow, and green fruit. Breathless with anticipation, I spun around in circles, trying to decide what to look at next. While I scanned the area around me, a rambling bed of brightly colored flowering bushes caught my eye. The bushes stood in curving beds of scarlet red, creamy white, and buttery yellow. The contrast of the bright blooms against the dark, shiny leaves that grew from our stems and branches was striking. They swayed gently in the soft breeze. I drew in a deep breath and became intoxicated by the sweet floral fragrance that floated in the air. I knelt down to touch the silky petals of one of the lovely red flowers. It was had a rich, ruffled red bloom that was interesting to look at, and a simple spicy fragrance. As I leaned forward to examine another blossom, a soft hum caught my ears. I leaned in even more to listen closely. I noticed that the hum came from the flowers! “They are singing!” I was perplexed. “They are singing to our Father, the Almighty. Everything he has created sings songs of thanksgiving to him. The joy of his creation is impossible to contain.” I did not take the time to notice which creature had spoken. I glanced around again and sprang up to get a closer look at a nearby tree. The tree was much taller than I was, and its loaded branches hung low to the ground with another brightly colored fruit. I reached high into the leaves and plucked a plump, round, orange-yellow fruit from the branch. I held the lovely fruit in my hand and savored its soft, fuzzy texture. Out of curiosity, I squeezed it. My fingers sunk into its flesh, causing a sticky, fragrant fluid to cover my hand, trickle down my forearm, and drip from my elbow. Instinctively I put the fruit to my lips and took a bite, slurping the juice from the fruit as much of it ran down my chin. The tart, musky- but- sweet flavor exploded across my tongue. Even the texture of the inside of the fruit was satisfying as I rolled it around inside my mouth and chewed the stringy meat. I marveled at how the simple act of eating a piece of fruit activated all senses of my body. “Our Father gives us these things for our enjoyment. He gives us these things because he loves us.” I shook the sticky fluid from my arm and turned to look at the one who was speaking to me. The magnificent Chayot stood side by side, their hands linked in fellowship and their colorful wings spread so that the wings of one touched the wings of the one next to him. Feathers and fur completely covered them under their linen garments, whereas I was my skin was hairless and smooth. Although they were different in that aspect, our wings, hands, and feet were the same as mine, which told me that I was one of them. With his hand still holding his brother’s hand, the cherub standing in the middle of the group stepped slowly toward me. He reached for my hand and warmly grasped it, symbolically accepting me into their fold. This was Mebahel, the firstborn of the Chayot. Mebah, as the others sometimes called him, was the ox cherub, tall and bulky in appearance. His face was not at all like mine. Whereas the features of my face were all on one plane, Mebah’s wide-set nose and mouth jutted out into a broad muzzle. The lips of his smiling mouth were very thin and black, with a top lip that visually connected to his broad nose in the center, and he had a wavy tuft of fur that hung down from his chin. His deep-brown eyes were soft and round thick, framed by thick eyelashes. They were set to the sides of his head and showed extreme kindness. Two furry ears stuck out prominently from the corners of the top of his skull. Instead of skin, Mebah’s face and neck were covered with shiny black fur, and atop his head, just above and behind his protruding ears, was set a magnificent set of smooth, shiny horns that curved upward; the tips were black and graduated to light gray and then back to black. We walked in silence; the cool grass felt delicious on our bare feet. A soft breeze indicated the Almighty’s gentle presence, which was unmistakable as he bestowed his peace upon us while each of us was lost in our own thoughts. With no one leading our wanderings, we ambled toward another of the fruit trees, its branches heavy with round red fruit. We plopped down in a circle under the low branches in the light shade. Sweet silence hung in the air as we relaxed in the cool grass. Reluctant to break the silence, Hahaiah, the eagle cherub, leaned forward, laid his large hand upon mine, and spoke in a satiny whisper. “We have been waiting for you, brother.” I looked into his clear eyes and fell into them. The creamy pale color was so luminous that I could almost see the sweetness of Hahaiah’s soul. I watched the cherub as he spoke and thought it strange that he could speak so clearly, even though the hooked beak upon his white, feathered face was stationary. I had not tried to speak up to this point. I hoped that the others could understand me at my first attempt. My gaze shifted from one to the next, and after a moment, I mustered the courage to try to speak. I hoped my voice was as pleasing as Hahaiah’s. I took a breath and spoke. “You…you are…wonder…ful.” The words dripped from my lips, and the tender sound that came out pleasantly surprised me. All of the cherubim gasped at loveliness of my voice. Iezalel, the gibbon cherub, clapped his hands excitedly. “Oh, I knew your voice would be beautiful!” he chirped in a voice befitting his slight frame. “I am happy you are here!” he gushed, still trying to restrain himself as he introduced himself. “I am called Ietzy.” It was clear that the others loved Iezalel because their faces brightened with fondness as he chattered. They exchanged amused glances and snickered because they knew that he had been still for as long as he could be. Iezalel seemed relieved that the silence was finally broken, and he smiled a comical grin, his white teeth standing out in contrast to his black gums. Silky black fur covered him. He had monkeylike features that made him seem quite childlike; his wide brown eyes revealed his innocence and spunk. I enjoyed looking at Iezalel’s black skin and hairless face. A heart-shaped line of white fur framed his face, and a tuft of fuzz crowned his black head. It pointed upward like a wave and hid his ears, thus making him look like a small child. Now comforted by the beginning conversation, Iezalel continued to chatter, his words tumbling over each other. “God is so great! He knows what we want and what we need, and what he wants us to have is usually much, much, much better than what we think we need! He is great like that, he is!”[Ietzy’s speech pattern is sort of like Yoda on crack…] The soft breeze stirred the air, a seeming acknowledgment that God was a participant in the discussion and appreciated the impromptu worship. Iezalel arranged his soft wings into a pillow and propped himself back in the grass. “Yes, he is great, he is.” Lauviah, the stallion cherub, tossed his flaxen mane and reached above his head into the heavy branch above him. He plucked a shiny red fruit with his long fingers. He brought the fruit toward his mouth and bit into it. He shifted his weight and propped himself up on his elbows. “He has blessed you with humor,” he told Ietzy, while he chomped on the fruit. “That is a blessing to us all, dear brother.” The ragged white stripe emblazoned from the top of Lauviah’s forehead and down his long nose intrigued Haziel because it flared out between his eyes to form a four-point star with the bottom ray going almost to the tip of his muzzle. Since sitting still was against Iezalel’s nature, he rose to his feet, grasped a branch above his head, and gingerly flipped his body until he was hanging upside down by his knees. The elbow of his shimmery wing slightly brushed the wing of the lion cherub, who was thoughtfully twirling a strand of fur from his bushy dark mane and blissfully looking off into the distance. A look of mischief spread across Iezalel’s furry face as he looked at the top of Aladiah’s head and dropped leaves onto it one at a time. Ignoring Ietzy, Aladiah at last joined the conversation. “Haziel, you are blessed to be the one of us who most closely resembles the ones who are created in God’s image.” Ietzy, still hanging from the tree, plucked a twig and tickled Aladiah’s ear. Aladiah absently swatted at it as he continued. “The intentions of the Almighty are still a mystery to us. However, he does reveal to us things when we call on him. He makes known that some of his plan would be too difficult for us to understand at this point and that he will enlighten us in his own time. Therefore, we must trust him by faith. He is a loving God and knows what is best for us.” Iezalel quickly tired of hanging around, so he gingerly flipped his body and landed cross-legged on his bottom with the skill of a gymnast. Leaning back on his hands, Iezalel turned to face Hahaiah, the eagle cherub, and leaned toward him, “Hahaiah, won’t you tell us again about our Lord God?” That they had heard this story before was obvious, because they leaned forward with faces of expectation and encouraged Hahaiah to tell the beloved story again. “Of course I will! I would be honored!” he said as the others arranged their large bodies into more comfortable positions. Hahaiah, the one who had special knowledge of spiritual things, shifted his weight around and leaned against the tree with his knees bent in front of him. He laid his hands on his knees and obliged our request. His face grew serene as he prepared to speak.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 19:04:00 +0000