symbols

what symbols do we carry in our culture? what tokens represent something much larger than themselves? i would venture that there aren't many meaningful ones in america. there are status symbols; there are cars and clothings lines and bumper stickers and flags. there are heirlooms and artifacts and first-editions. but very few tokens are given that are life long and universal. it's all just 'stuff' right? in the end, you can't take it with you anyway.

on friday night, on a rooftop overlooking the des moines skyline and sculpture garden, i was the recipient of a symbol. a collection of metal and rocks, a cool band wrapping around my ring finger, trapping light and glitter, winking a declaration that my life is forever changed. and while i have never been a girly-sqealing-girl, i was instantly absorbed by the enormous representation of it all. i realized, all at once, that it is never about the ring. at least, it shouldn't be. it is about what the ring communicates to you -to everybody- the commitment, the devotion, the love-of-my-life completeness of it all.

at it's best, life is to be lived with your soulmate by your side. a union mirroring Christ, a union of servanthood and sacrifice, of laughter and adventure. words can't capture all the excitement. so we try to capture it with a symbol. i will wear this ring until the day i die (i have never owned anything like this). This ring may be passed on to children and grandchildren. i don't understand why you would ever change it, ever alter it, ever tamper with it, ever break it from its original meaning. it is one of the few things in this cardboard, temporary culture that is meant to last.

(the meaning, not the symbol)