I believe He did to me. He gave me a bouquet of branches laden with cherry blossoms, and a bowl full of cherries flavored with almond oil. Here is how He did it:
Being sick, I am revisiting things like this blog and the Eldredge forum, etc. a little more than normal life allows. I hadn't been to the forum for around 6 months, but went back when one of the members sent me a happy birthday email. There, I found this lovely picture of cherry blossoms posted and I picked it up to use as my desktop background, I found it to be so lovely and refreshing.
The next morning, my husband came in saying he had a weird dream in which people were using cherry soap, but using it wrong so that it did no good. We mused a bit over what that could mean. Later, he went out to buy my birthday cake. When he came home and set the cake on the counter, I finally picked up on the redundancy--the chocolate cake was covered in white icing that was decorated with pink cherry blossoms, with sunny yellow centers and colorful edible spangles sprinkled all around. But he didn't know I'd posted these same blossoms on my computer, nor did he realize that they were cherry blossoms at all. The point was obviously being made by You, and You alone, through people who have the spiritual sensitivity to allow You to guide them.
I went to my computer and began to explore just what You might be saying with the cherry blossom bouquet. Just what "knees would bow and tongues confess" Your message by submitting to Your sovereignty in choosing this image as gift for me? It was quite a cornucopia. Chinese art and medicinal lore as well as Japanese, old time needlework sampler patterns, even hip and trendy tattoo symbolise, all bowed to Your sovereignty over the moment in time that is my birthday.
One of the main things You touched upon was my fragile health at the moment. The mono I'm battling at the moment could trigger a number of serious complications given my predisposition to auto-immune disorders. I could easily go into other rheumatic conditions. So even though the first thing I found when I googled "cherry blossom" was its recognition as a sign of spiritual beauty in China--for which I thank You that You gave me that first, it is nevertheless in Japan, seen as a symbol of the frailty and fragility of life, teaching the person--through the meaning of the blossom's short season--not to get too attached to a particular outcome nor clutch the beauty of this state of being too tightly, this short-lived flower must give way for the fruit to come, and serves as reminder that we, too, are but mortal in this body of flesh. The Christian could follow up that Buddhist philosophy with a look at the cherry to come--the best part! Getting back to the Chinese view of the blossom I found the idea that it represents feminine beauty and sexuality and often carries the idea of feminine power. It is a symbol of love, feminine beauty and strength. But again, in Japanese art the delicate flower is often paired with the weaponry and armor of the Samurai warrior. It seems incongruous, but the Japanese see the pairing sensible as both the cherry blossom and the warrior may be short lived, but glorious in their day, especially if the warrior dies in service to his lord. I thought of Your death in order to fulfill the will of Your Father, and saw You inserting Yourself in the way You were giving me the world here! You seemed to say "Artwork commemorates unions like yours and Mine down through the ages, whether it realizes it fully or not."
What else? Chinese medicinal folklore advises using cherries to treat heart, spleen and stomach issues, as well as "rheumatism". What are You saying with this gift and the uncannily fitting use of it to treat the very symptoms I have? "I will heal what ails you."
Continuing with the cherry itself, one of the links I found posed the question: what is the symbolism of the cherry fruit in tattoo art. One responder said it stood for herpes. I laughed at that one. My husband is prone to the cold sores caused by the herpes simplex virus, and he had one right at the onset of the mono (he has it, too). We read that having the herpes simplex virus kick up a cold sore in the early stages of mono is common...so even the cherry tattoos have their place in the grand scheme of this...what are You saying? "My gifts that surround my creation of you are for your good, but will nevertheless overflow and be part of the reality of others."
In fact, that I received the blossom, but my love received the fruit (in his dream) was an even more fitting gift, for the cherry fruit symbolically is said to represent the "sweetness of character derived from good works." It is often referred to as the "fruit of Paradise" in reference to the destination of those who perform the good deeds of a strong character. This is my husband's story well told. Over the years I've watched his character mature and ripen to be something beautiful to behold. It is called a symbol of self-discovery and self-sacrifice, and I've seen him walk these roles these last years as well. It is an honor to know him in these ways, and a pleasure to have our Lord's confirmation that He sees us as a unit and so blessed in this life. It is also a sign You know my husband well. He has always loved Bing cherries with a passion. I have a happy memory of him sitting on the back steps, throwing a toy for the dog to chase and eating Bing cherries by the handfull on gorgeous summer evenings. What are You saying to my husband with the cherries and his dream? "I'll give you the desires of your heart, and I have confidence you'll know what to do with those desires, more confidence than you have even in yourself, because I know who I made you to be."
I sighed contentedly after that study, and went to the freezer. I needed to do my part to show I would receive such a gift of the Spirit, so I pulled out a jar of those frozen cherries and almond oil, a Danish recipe I found in a canning book last summer. I thawed those cherries for the eating, and I watched with joy as my husband walked toward me in the glow of the candles on that cherry blossom cake. I received it like it was the first real birthday I'd ever had. Even the lacing of almond flavoring poured over those cherries last summer (long before these days could be foreseen) had its own precious meaning, and I'm reminded how You don't ever waste anything. Genesis calls the almond, "among the best of fruits" and Aaron's staff was almond wood, and its budding was a sign of Your call on his life before the people of Israel when they had doubts about him. What's more, the almond branch is often a sign of Your birth through the Virgin Mary in Renaissance art, a sign of her purity. What are You saying with the touch of almond flavoring? "Come the rest of the way into this Mandorla with Me." I'm speechless to respond for a while.
Thank You for the gift. It was all the things a perfect gift is supposed to be, and more than I could ever have known to ask!"
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