A Manual: How to Touch the Sky
The moment your knees hit the ground, your soul touched the sky.
- So you made a mistake. You have been drowning with what you thought was supposed to save you. You try to breathe in oxygen, but instead, you only inhale the poison. You have bought the promises and the glamor of what this world promised to give you, and in exchange, you have paid the price. Depression seeps into your soul as if the price you have paid was not enough. You have given your heart in the hopes of being worthy in the world’s eyes, but they have not kept their part of the bargain.
- You look at the scars that the world has given you. In each scar, lies a story. In each story, a painful lesson can be retrieved. And in each lesson, a sharp regret flashes through your memory, sadness enveloping your heart. And the scars you have on your heart may seem sickening to you, but the scars of one man are said to be a treasure. You seek and search for the man’s wounds. In each wound, lies a story. And in each story, a lesson can be retrieved. And in each lesson, a sharp emotion, not regret, flashes through his memory. Regret was not shown, but grace.
- The man offers you a gift. Not a promise only to be exchanged with another regretful memory. But a simple gift. No payment required. The man said. His smile was genuine. The gift was wrapped in a blue box, a color similar to the sky. His eyes looked full of peace, and his face seemed serene, despite the scars that he has received. You take the gift from his hands, and it felt cool to the touch, not one that’s coldness burns like fire, but as cool and as gentle as the wind. You bring the gift and take it home.
- Upon arriving home, you shut the door and lock it. As you always do. You sit on your bed and open the gift the man has given you. Upon opening it, a bright light shines around the room, one that should have been blinding. And as quickly as the light has escaped from the box, it flashed out and the room was back to its original self. The light has disappeared, and the gift that you have been holding in your hands seems to be long gone. But the light has shown you something. The light has shown you and given you what you have craved most for the world. And the fact that you did not have to pay anything still baffles you.
- You hear your heart beating. How long has it been since you have felt your heart thumping against your chest? The rhythm of the drum continues and your hand slowly goes above your chest. You can feel it. It beats like a drum and it has no plan of stopping. Your heart continues to beat as you remember what you saw in the light. A cross. A love so pure that it was the price paid for all of your scars. And the world approved of the price. But this time, it was made sure that the deal would be kept.
- Heart beating in your chest, you sense another thing coming back to life. Your soul, another price you have paid, seemed to return. You expected heaviness and sorrow to burden you, but what came back was a calm soothing sensation, as if your soul was destroyed and torn to shreds the moment you sold it to the world. You feel your soul breathing once more. And not with heaviness or burden, but with the sense of light in your soul.
- You stood up, knowing you need to find the Man with the scars. You run, looking to the place the last time you saw him. He is sitting on a bench at the seemingly colorless park, with him holding another gift, offering it to anyone who would be willing to take it. You tap his shoulder, and he turns to you. His face reveals patience and trust. How long has it been since you last saw trust in a person’s face? You kneel before him, head down, and hands open. You lay it all down. The hands that showed your scars are bare before him. You show it as you cry before his feet. You are completely open and vulnerable before him. You find yourself laying everything before Him. And you saw yourself at His feet, thanking Him for saving your soul.
- He lifts you and hugs you. Hugs in this world are usually hidden with evil motives. A pat on the shoulder becomes a stab in the back. A hand holding another turns into a scar from the burning sensation. But this hug showed empathy. His hug gave you comfort.
- He pulls you into a dance. Dances in this world are normally hidden with evil motives. One moment, a romantic dance, a swaying of the hips, turns into a night of seduction. One memory, from a jump to the beat in the late night clubs, to the early morning stages when innocent dancing turned into one drink, one shot after another. But this dance is none of these. He continues to twirl you into a lasting embraced. He shows respect, not as you deserve, but because of who He is. for the first time in a long time, you felt safe.
- Long after he lets you go, the Man with the Scars continues to linger in your head. Your soul still feels light. It is as if the moment your knees hit the ground, your soul touched the sky. Your soul did not find fame or fortune, or worthiness of what the world has promised. But you found peace. You found love. You found grace. Your soul continues to dance long after the two of you have stopped, and you know that you have finally touched the sky. And all you had to do, was drop your knees, and surrender your all, to the Man with the scars.
