My Favourite Present - Ever!

                                            
George and I had been married 25 years.
We had celebrated with a big family party,which was a happy memory when my cousin John brought us this present- it had not been finished in time for the day.

It was not glamorously wrapped,if I remember rightly,and came as a big surprise; I can honestly say it always meant a great deal to us both. I keep it in my bedroom,and can see it from my bed.
It is a box, designed and made in two parts,lined with dark brown velvet,made of two kinds of wood,and (suitably for a silver wedding gift) representing marriage.
Inside is a handwritten scroll,tied with ribbon.
John must have worked for hours, putting it together and composing the inscription, which follows:

                                                         WOOD SHAVINGS
The box is made from two very different woods.
One is plain, with an open,straight grain,light and tough,but easily split.
The second is dark,rich and glossy with subtle gleams and shades,and deceptively strong.
Both are unique and original, as is all nature.
Fragile when parted,they present together a strong and symmetrical shape.
At the heart of each part lies a section of the other wood,and it is this section which gives the structure its strength.

So with man and woman.
He is tough and direct in his outward ways, yet mortally cleft by a careless word.
She is a creature of rich,attractive beauty, with soft and tender ways that conceal tremendous tenacity and purpose.
In their marriage,there is no simple boundary between their lives; each reaching in to fill what the other may lack, and receiving in turn abundant love and support.
Together, they present a simple unity not easily destroyed.
At the heart of each lies the well-being of the other, and all their ways are grounded in this awareness.

                           "As unto the bow, the cord is
                            So unto her man is woman.
                           Though she bend him, she obeys him
                           Though she draws him,yet she follows,
                           Useless each without the other.."

A unique and wonderful gift which is ,and always will be,treasured...