The Gift

Hello, I am a pair of dainty, gold, cross earrings and I was a meaningful gift.  I’m not sure when I was found exactly but I know I passed through different forms and owners before being turned into the earring I am now.  I somehow ended up being melted down and reshaped as I am today to be sold at a small jewelry stand in downtown Los Angeles. Here I was purchased by a kind and friendly woman who seemed to know the jewelers. I was the woman’s for some time, she’d wear me when she saw fit switching between other earrings. My owner had a daughter and had her second granddaughter on the way during my time with her. Somethings had been happening in her life that resulted in me being taken to her small pueblo in Mexico for the last time.  She took me to an old, small, yet beautiful church where a few of her belongings including myself were blessed. Another pair of earrings and I stayed at that church for a while hidden but not so much where we’d no longer be blessed. It was probably a good six months before our owner returned for us. Her hands were so warm and soft as she took us from the cold surface of the stand for the Virgin Mary statue we’d been waiting for her return.  

After coming back home, I saw that a lot had changed and suddenly her daughter had a third child I did not quite remember.  The other earring and I were only ever taken out of our box very few times after that but I was able to find out the third child had a very fragile health. The earrings I spent that time in Mexico with were eventually taken out not too late after being seen by a young girl.  I was sure I’d probably never see them again but we can get to that later.  As I lay there in that jewelry box, seeing all that she has given away and all that she now neglects I think of how many other hands I’ve passed through and how many different forms I have had.  I am eternal due to a technicality but what the point be if I never see the beauty of nature, feel rain pouring from the heavens, or smell all the funny randomly beautiful scents in this world. As gold you aren’t kept the same forever and you often out live your owners.  I had wondered why it was that my sweet now older owner would just give us all away but I see now that she isn’t just discarding us or getting rid of old junk but gifting us to those she loves. You see by giving us to her loved ones we may become a vessel for her and her life.  We may remind them of how important family is and how loving it can be. By giving us a way she is giving us a new life and them something from her past so that they may carry it with them even when dealing with pain. You see her daughter struggled when having kids and had become very ill during her last pregnancy.  Her daughter and granddaughter are both doing well but the baby had been born a bit sick so I was sent to be blessed so that I may be her blessing. 

I was kept in a box for many years rather than gifted to the child because the mother had lost some of her faith and felt that I wasn’t very necessary anymore.  The thing is that despite her mother not being able to see the value of having a symbol or faith and family with you almost always that child did.  As my owner was giving us away I too was gifted to the very child I was meant to help all along. I realized she no longer had the home I was first brought to but two different homes.  I was able to be one of the things that connected her to the love and warmth of one home when the other would grow cold and hurtful. Soon after being reassigned a new owner I realized that this new owner would accessorize by her love and faith daily as opposed to her clothing and style.  I joined the small collection of memorable gifts that remind her of those she loves and connects her to God.  I am from parts of her past and I bring her back to her origins by reminding her of my long and beautiful journey to her. I get to see the world daily and live her life with her. I’m not some simple gift but one that will be here to outwardly express her religion, show off her heritage, connect her to both hers and my pasts, and remind her that she is love and will forever remain in the heart of her wonderful grandmother who has always been there to guide, raise, and hold her as she walks through life herself.