The Power and the Glory

by Kate Everson

tree. “Have you ever seen a creature with such agility and grace?”

  The squirrel perched on a limb and flicked its tail. It seemed to know it was being appreciated.

  Thomas led the man to a stone cottage covered in vines and flowers. “Look,” he said. “Have you ever seen such simplicity and beauty?”

  The man was getting tired, so Thomas led him to a small café where a young girl brought them tea and scones. She smiled at them and her face lit up like sunshine.

  “Have you ever seen such a smile?” asked Thomas.

  And the old man smiled himself, for the first time in many weeks. There was no denying to Thomas that this was anything but a wonderful world. There was something everywhere to be grateful for.

  Thomas went about the small village, sharing his message with everyone he could. Where there was sorrow, he brought joy. Where there was anger, he brought peace. Where there was hatred, he brought love.

  And each time, he offered Gratitude to the heavens.

  “Thank you,” he said to the blue sky. “Thank you for showing me what life can be. There is always something to be grateful for and the most important lesson of my life is gratitude to You.”

  From the top of a tall pine, a pinecone came tumbling down and landed on his head. Thomas picked it up and stared at it thoughtfully. A message from the King of Trees, he laughed.

  He took the pinecone into the junior class of a nearby school and asked the teacher if she would put it on the shelf with their nature studies. She looked surprised, but did what he said. The children liked the pinecone and whenever they touched it something magical happened.

  One little girl with a torn dress touched the pinecone and she began to smile and smile. “I feel so happy!” she exclaimed to her friends. “I don’t care what anybody says about my dress. I am happy to have something to wear and a school to go to, and my good health. I am grateful for all I have!”

  The other girls were surprised to hear this shy girl speak like that. But they felt her new strength and stopped bullying her. She had a joy they could not understand but they respected it. She was touched by a higher power than they even knew.

  A boy touched the pinecone and felt stronger. He had not been good at sports but now he started exercising more and gaining strength. He excelled at his favourite sport, baseball, and batted that ball right out of the park! He laughed. There was something about that pinecone…

  When Thomas heard about the magical powers of the pinecone, he was astonished. There was more going on here than he was aware of. Someone was helping him on his mission. He wondered who it was.

  That night, he stood under the huge pine tree. It got darker and the moon came out. Suddenly, Thomas felt something. It was a presence and it was coming from the Tree.

  Then he heard it speak, softly in his left ear.

  “Thomas… ” it said.

  Thomas jumped. Trees could speak? But somehow nothing surprised him any more. He had been to hell and back and was here for the ride of his life.

  The Tree told Thomas to climb up its trunk. He did.

  “Higher,” the Tree said. And Thomas climbed to the very top and sat in the branches.

  “Is that high enough?” he laughed.

  The Tree shook its branches and some pine needles fell on his head, making a lovely needle hat. He shook them off and put his ear to the tree. “Tell me,” he said. “What do I need to know?”

  The Tree said, “Thomas you have been doing very well spreading the message of gratitude but there is something more you must share.”

  “What is that?” he asked.

  “Magic,” the Tree said, and shook so hard that Thomas fell all the way down and landed in the soft grass. He got up and wiped off the pine gum from his jeans and gave a hearty laugh.

  “OKAY!” he declared and off he went on his new mission. The message of Magic was about to have a new face in that town. Thomas the Magician was born!

  Thomas didn’t know much about magicians, but he knew Merlin was the greatest of all. So he took a little trip to Tintagel, and found a statue of Merlin in the town. Tourists would stop and get their picture taken with it, and Merlin passed a little bit of his magic to everyone he touched.

  So Thomas went up to Merlin and asked him directly for his help.

  “Merlin,” he said. “Help me. I need your magic touch.”

  Merlin did not move. After all, he was just a statue. But Thomas came back that night under a full moon and asked him again. This time, he got a response.

  “Wait for me by the stone wall,” he heard Merlin say.

  So Thomas, not surprised by anything these days, went and stood by the wall, hoping it was the right one. He stood there patiently for about an hour. Just when he was about to give up, he saw a goat. It walked right up to him and said, “Naaaa.”

  Thomas took the goat by the horns and it led him down a rocky path to the side of the ocean. The waves were crashing and the moon reflected off the cliffs. It was a scary place to stand, but Thomas was not afraid of anything any more. He trusted his guide.

  He could see everything as if it were bright as day, and he followed the stone steps to the bottom of the cliffs. The sandy beach at the bottom felt good on his bare feet and he stood in the crashing waves for a few moments, feeling their power.

  “I have the power,” he told Merlin who had quickly transformed himself out of the goat. “But I don’t know how to use it.”

  Merlin smiled and said, “Follow me.”

  He led Thomas along a winding path on the rocky shoreline and eventually they came to a small hut. They went inside. There, Merlin started cooking up a concoction of herbs and strange mixtures he got from jars on the shelf. Thomas had no idea what they were. Merlin stirred the substances and smoke began to rise from them. Then he held it out to Thomas and said, “Drink.”

  Thomas took one sip and almost spat it out.

  “Yuck!” he said.

  “Drink more!” ordered Merlin. And Thomas did as he was told.

  Suddenly, the room got as bright as sunlight. Thomas felt the sun pour into every pore of his being. He became sunlight.

  “I feel lighter,” he said.

  Merlin laughed. “And so you should,” he said. “You just swallowed a whole year’s worth of sun bright!”

  Thomas could see everything clearly now, more than ever. He opened his eyes wider and wider and saw in Merlin the shape of many different creatures, from toads and bats to goats and fairy princesses. Merlin was indeed many things!

  Then Merlin passed him a mirror. Thomas looked and was amazed. He saw his face change into hundreds of different faces, one after the other. He had lived many times in many forms. Now, looking back at him, was a new Thomas, one with blue hair and a goat’s eyes. Then it vanished and he was his familiar self again.

  “Whew!” he said, putting down the mirror. “That was quite a trip!”

  Merlin laughed and told Thomas he had to use that knowledge to help others. He placed in his hand a magical scepter, one that was invisible to others, but could transform people’s lives.

  Thomas bowed. “Thank you,” he said. “I will do my best.”

  “See that you do, Thomas!” Merlin roared. “I will be watching!”

  Now that Thomas had magical powers, he knew what he had to do. He was a changed person, and everything he had been through had made him stronger and more aware. No longer did he live just for himself. What he felt or thought was nothing. He was an instrument to be used to make this a better world. He was the essence of the Power and Glory here on earth.

  And he was very, very glad.

  The End

  Read more inspirational stories at: The Power of Magnificence, and Rebekah in Cornwall and Life Lessons from Home Sweet Home and A Song for Rebekah.

 
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