"Open your eyes."
The voice was silken, soft and sweet. Still half-asleep, the man smiled at the words. "You're smiling. See? I know you heard me." He opened his eyes. The woman lay beside him, a smile playing at her lips and a seductive innocence alight in her eyes. A long moment passed between them, and the man realized he was holding his breath. He let it out slowly. He wanted to tell her something--anything--about how she had made him feel the night before, how she was making him feel right now, but there were no words suitable. So instead he kissed her; first her lips, then her neck, and finally her forehead. She giggled, wrapping her arms around him. Together, they sighed in contentment.
He sensed her distraction when she lifted her head from his chest. She was looking at something behind im. Her mouth hung open, eyes dancing with a mixture of joy and fear. The look on her face made his heart thunder in anticipation; he knew that she was seeing the one thing she loved more than him, and the one Person he loved more than her. He gently moved out from underneath her, then excitedly righted himself and ran to greet the SHEKINAH.
The SHEKINAH smiled at both of them. He held out His arms and hugged the man. "Good morning, Adam." He leaned back and smiled at the woman. "Have you named her yet?"
"Not yet," the man said, shaking his head. "Not until I understand everything about her." The SHEKINAH laughed, but the man was not sure why.
The SHEKINAH clapped His hands and turned. Five lean and sleek animals came forward, their golden coats glistening in the SHEKINAH's light. The man was aware of the woman standing next to him. He smiled at her, and she took his hand. "What do you think, Adam?" the SHEKINAH asked.
The woman squeezed his hand. With the other hand he reached out and touched the shoulder of one of the female beasts, marveling at the hard muscle beneath the coat. He heard the woman gasp. He turned and saw her running her fingers through the thick mane of the older male, laughing. Incongruously, the powerful creature purred and swished its tail. The man put his hand on the beast's mane and stroked, his fingers within the mand finding the woman's. She gasped at this touch and smiled. The man knew then. He knew. He turned back to the SHEKINAH.
"Have you decided?" the SHEKINAH asked. "What is their name?"
The man nodded firmly. The woman looked at him with some awe, but his eyes were fixed on the SHEKINAH, and he did not notice. He opened his mouth, and it seemed as if the whole world was silent, waiting for the man's words.
"They are lions."
The stillness lasted for a few more moments. At last, the SHEKINAH smiled and lifted His head to the sky. "So be it!" He proclaimed. The lions bared their teeth and roared in affirmation.
The man smiled in satisfaction, then noticed the woman staring at him. He flet his face glow red, and he shifted his weight. "What?"
She started. "Oh. Sorry. You just said that with such... such authority!" She laughed and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He could not breathe, but he did not mind. He looked up and saw the SHEKINAH smiling at them, waiting patiently. He kissed the woman on the cheek and excused himself. The woman watched as the man and the SHEKINAH walked away together. When they were gone, she looked back to the lions. She remembered the way her man had named them, and she had to admit it suited them perfectly. But as she sat watching them, she began to notice how each of the lions was different from the others. She frowned and began to think. "Hmmm...."
****
The man had been walking with the SHEKINAH for some time, but several times he found himself staring at the woman behind them. "Adam?" The man jumped.
"Yes, Lord?"
"Have you listened to anything I've said?"
"Of course I have. You said..." The man stopped and blushed.
The SHEKINAH smiled understandingly. "You like her, then?"
The man could not suppress a laugh. "Oh, yes."
"She is meet, then? She is suitable?"
"Suitable! Oh, my Beloved Lord, she is more than suitable. She is perfect, she is innocent, delightful, resplendent, gorgeous, awe-inspiring..." For another hour and a half, the man exhausted his supply of adjectives describing the woman, without repeating a single word.
Finally, when he finished, the SHEKINAH simply said, "I am glad."
They walked on. "I love everything you make, Lord." The SHEKINAH nodded silently. The man turned away, biting his lip.
"Is something bothering you, My son?"
"I..." The man stopped. With a sigh, he began again. "I..." He clenched his fists and ran forward, then turned and stared directly at the SHEKINAH. "I want to be more like you."
"Like Me?"
"Yes, Lord. Because You, too, are delightful and resplendent and... and all the rest. But You're even more than she is--holy, and true, and just..."
"...And you want to be delightful and true as well?" The man hung his head. "Oh, Adam." The SHEKINAH reached out His hand and lifted the man's head. "You are created in My Image. You delightful delightful and holy. You are absolutely beautiful, Adam."
The man's heart leapt at the words. "Am I?"
"You are because I say you are."
The man nodded. "But... there are so many things you do that I cannot."
"There always will be. You are My Image, but you are not Me. That is how it should be." The SHEKINAH smiled. "That is why I have asked you to assist Me in Creation. Of all the beasts on the earth, you made none; I created them all. However, you, Adam, are the one that named them--and without names, a thing is not complete. Were it not for you, Adam, Creation would not be complete. Thank you."
His Creator had thanked him!
"I am pleased, Adam, my son. It is you who named the things that delight Me--the lion, the lamb, the hippopatamus, the butterfly, the... what were they, Adam? The sky king, the silver hunter, the weaving dancer?"
The man's smile grew. "The eagle, the wolf, and the spider!"
"Yes, yes. The eagle, the wolf, the spider..."
The man grew thoughtful. He knew, of course, that the Creator hadn't forgotten the names, but that the Creator delighted to hear the names in Adam's voice.
"You are becoming more like Me each day." The Creator's voice trailed off. "One day, Adam. One day..."
The man stared. Was that a tear in the SHEKINAH's Eye? "Have I... have I displeased you, Lord?"
A pause. "I love you, Adam. I love you. I will never regret creating you. Never."
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