Remember that God is closer to you than the neck of your camel.

                                              - The Prophet Mohammed

I was sitting quietly reading one evening when I heard a rustling in my closet.  I thought it was my imagination and ignored it at first, but then I heard a gentle voice whispering.

"Who's there?"  I whispered back.

"It's me, Sam, your guardian angel," replied the gentle voice.

"My guardian angel?" I answered, a little skeptically.  I squinted to see something beyond my reading light but could see only shadows.  "Where are you?" I asked.

"Wherever you are, my friend," he replied with a smile in his voice,  "wherever you are."

"If that's so, then why haven't I ever seen you?" I asked.

"You see reflections of me everywhere.  I was in the woman with the broken down car, walking in the pouring rain, drenched to the bone, yet you gave me a ride anyway.  I was in the man who nudged you and pointed to the ground when you dropped your wallet.  I was in the woman at the subway station in Tokyo who helped you find your way.  Look for the good in people and you'll see see reflections of me everywhere."

I remembered each of these people.  More, even though I had seen each only once, I found that I remembered each clearly and no one knew of all of them except me... and Sam. 

"Then tell me Sam, what are you here to do?"  I asked, still not quite convinced who I was talking to.

"As all spiritual beings, my purpose is to grow, to learn, and to love.  By helping you, another spiritual being, I grow, learn, and put love into action.

"Wait a second.  Me?  A spiritual being?"

"Of course.  You aren't simply a human being with spiritual experiences, but a spiritual being having a human experience.  You must realize by now that there is much more to your existence than just this life."

"Well... yes, but I can't help but wonder, if that's so, then why am I here?"

"You don't listen very well do you." Sam answered with a note of condescension that I didn't care for.  I was sure that if he was wearing glasses, he had them low on the bridge of his nose, and he was cocking his head back to peer down at me like a patronizing schoolmarm.  "As with all spiritual beings, you are here to grow, to learn, to love," he finally answered

"OK, OK.  What I actually mean is, what am I here to do specifically."

"That's what you must find out."

Angel or no angel, I was beginning to get a little frustrated with this guy in the shadows.  "How can I find out what I'm supposed to do, if you won't tell me." I asked.

"By doing.  By acting."  He must have sensed my frustration, because he finally started saying something worthwhile.  "The spiritual being who does nothing, will never go further.  Thankfully, your soul is strong-willed and it won't let you sit idle.  It forces action, but the action you take is your choice to make.  Start with your passions.  Do what you enjoy; do what you love.  God has given you a multitude of gifts in skills and talents.  These are things you enjoy, and things you can do better than most other people.  Do them.  Don't squander God's gifts."

Sam continued.  "There is an old story about a rich nobleman who was going to a distant country to claim his kingdom.  He gathered up several of his servants and gave them each a gold piece.  'Hold this for me,' he said, 'until I return.' 

"When he returned, he asked each 'what have you done with my gold.'  The first servant replied, 'I have invested it in business and made it grow into ten coins, earned for you.'  The nobleman was pleased, and said 'since your character is strong in the smaller things, it must be even stronger with important issues' and he rewarded him with ten cities within his kingdom. The next servant came and said 'I have earned five more pieces of gold for you.'  The nobleman rewarded him with five cities. 

The last servant came and said, 'I have protected your gold in this cloth.  Here it is returned.'  The nobleman was less than impressed.  "You didn't even invest it to get simple interest?  I would've been better off giving my money to the greedy banker than you.  I'm thankful I learned how you waste such a small offering, before I offered you anything substantial."

"I see,"  I answered. "The servant that used the gift of gold enjoyed prosperity for him and many others.  The one that hid the gold enjoyed neither prosperity nor happiness.  And the gold that God has given me is in the form of talents, skills and passions.  The more I use them, the more they will multiply for God and me."

"Exactly," Sam replied.  "Now you know what to do, all that's left is doing it.  I must go now, but we'll talk again."

And with that Sam was gone.  Now, with so many people I meet, I silently wonder, "Sam is that you?"  And if it is, I wonder "what can I learn from you today?"

                                                                          -- Darril R. Gibson