Lem 4: his broken heart

"She is far more precious than jewelry."

Continuing to look at the rubies in one of her rings and thinking of her favorite strand of pearls often worn on special occasions, the words flowed,

"Her value is far above rubies or pearls."

Lem knew how his mom adored the jewelry that dad had given her over the years, how she cared for her rings and guarded her necklaces, how she smiled when she thought of each gift. And because of this awareness, he was beginning understand that this "woman" that his mother was speaking of had to be special and had to be a journey, because some of those jewels in his mother's rings came from far away places.

As a boy Lem listened to his father's tales of various countries that his mother's rings came from. As a man he had helped him discover some the jewels that adorned her favorite pieces. He had come to understand the value and the cost of those jewels.

But this "woman" that his mother speaks of was more.

For a heart that had been broken but uncertain as to whether he had ever truly been loved by the objects of his affection, he began to focus in on her words. Time became endless. Something in him awoke. He needed to hear the rest of what she was saying. . .

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve to say . . .