God Gave Us Brains
Shelly dabbed her lips with the white, linen napkin and tossed her auburn curls from her face. Her hazel eyes shone in the candlelight as she gazed into Derek’s.
“Dinner was perfect, Sweetheart! Roasted lobster tails with coconut curry dipping sauce! Delectable! Our two year anniversary! Any regrets?”
“Only that I didn’t meet you sooner! You believed in me, Shelly. That’s made all the difference to my life.”
“I’d given up on dating, Derek. Decided I’d rather go it alone. The other guys just wanted to show off. I couldn’t stand it! You’re always just you. No pretense.”
The waiter approached during a quiet moment. “How was the mousse? Would you like coffee?”
“Just the bill, please.”
Derek stood, put his arm around Shelly’s shoulders and planted a gentle kiss on the top of her head.
“Do you want to go home now…or…?”
“The sunlight will be dappling through the trees by the river. Let’s go for a stroll and watch the sunset!”
On the way, Derek suddenly turned into the local fast food outlet. He held the door open for Shelly who looked at him quizzically.
He gave a sheepish grin. “I just need a ‘top-me-up’,” he told her as he ordered a hamburger and fries. “Not much meat in a lobster leg!” Shelly chuckled and squeezed his hand.
Strolling along the river path, Derek munched through his meaty burger and wiped the barbecue sauce off his mouth with a couple of paper napkins.
Shelly breathed in the soft, moist scent of ferns and moss growing along the river bank. A deep contentment settled between them.
Meandering along the woodland trail, their minds wandered along other trails.
“Did you ever wonder if we are more than what we eat?” asked Shelly. “I mean, we can see the ripples in the creek, we can smell the leaf mould, hear the squirrels chittering; that lime mousse was delicious and I love the touch of your skin, but, Derek, do you think there is something more, beyond all that we feel with our five senses?”
“You mean, beyond a juicy burger and a beautiful girl at my side?” said Derek as he tossed the burger wrapper into a garbage can. “Well…there is love. I can feel it right now, but it’s beyond me to put it into words.” He drew Shelly close to sit beside him on a bench and added, “Grandma says love comes from God. She says God is love.”
Shelly nestled against his shoulder. “Sometimes loving is difficult, though. There’s those times when we just don’t feel like loving.”
“Yeah. Grandma says when we shut God out, we shut out love and we poison ourselves.”
“It sure is miserable when we are at odds with each other,” Shelly commented, “and it shows. Everyone at work knows when we’re not speaking to each other. Maybe we should let God in more.”
“Yeah, I‘ve been thinking about that, too. We could go to a church? It would give us something to think about.” Then Derek added, “I wouldn’t know where to start, though. There’s so many denominations. I suppose they all think they’re right, but how would we know?”
Shelly stood, took Derek’s hand and they walked along the path again. “We could gather information and figure it out,” she said, “after all, God gave us brains.”
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