Inner Appearances

Inner Appearances

guest post by Richard Bingman

As a boy about the age of 12, I looked forward to Christmas.  My Mother made sure we had a decorated tree.  We had a wooden bowl containing fruit, candy and a few nuts.

Since it was during the Depression, any gifts under the tree were few and very practical.  I could expect gloves, stockings, shirts and ties.

However, among these gifts, I remember a small box wrapped with my name on it.  Since it was a few days until Christmas, my curiousity was working overtime.  I was allowed to pick it up. shake it, but not open it until Christmas morning.  I wondered what it could be.  My gifts were usually large, and I did not have to think about what they were.  So I started thinking about its size, whether it rattled, and whether it was soft, hard or heavy.

Then, I began thinking about what I hoped it might be.  Since I was usually asking about what time it was, I hoped it might be a wrist watch.

Well, Christmas morning arrived, and I was told I could open my mystery box. I found it to be a tie clasp, and I did show a mixture of thanking and disappointment.  Mother noticed my concern, and knew what I wanted. She simply said, “You know there will be another time.”

Then, I seemed to become aware of the thinking process of my Mother the gift giver.  She had to find something that she thought I would like, within her limited budget.  She knew that I liked ties.  She knew that I liked new and shiny things.  Also, I had trouble controlling my ties and holding them in place. Sometimes, they would dangle in my food. I began to understand that she combined practicality with my desires, within her budget. I was so impressed with her ability to unravel this uncertainty and make sense out of it, I began to think more about her thinking process and how it was even more important than the gift itself.

I gained some support for this line of thinking, when I remembered reading about Jesus cautioning us to “Judge not on outward appearances.”

Actually, I did get a nice new Bulova watch later when I graduated from high school.  Times were better financially, and my parents spent 77 dollars for this watch in 1946.  Although its outward appearances were very attractive, I  only highlighted to my friends its inner appearances, that it was reliable and kept very good time.

So, Mother was right. My time did come after several years.  However, time is a small item, when you are working with God to correct your inner appearances.

Author Bio: Dr. Richard Bingman is a member of the Springfield, Mo. Unity Spiritual Center.  He has had a long professional interest and experience in creating programs and articles of an educational and spiritual nature. During the past ten years he has developed his style of blending bits of his life experience with spiritual principles to create a spiritual message.

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