The Grey Sweater

Have you ever loved something that you have purchased? Have you waited...saved for..and hoped for that garment, hoping to make it a part of your world?

There was once a man, who saw a comfy, warm, grey sweater in a store. He immediately loved it. He held it against his torso, to see if it would fit....he felt that texture of the fibres...soft, nubby...comfortable. When he checked his wallet...he realised, that he was short of the asking price. With a small amount of disappointment...he put down the sweater, and left the store.

He thought of it all week...and knew when he was paid next, that would be the first place he would go. The day finally arrived..and with expectation and excitement, he purchased the grey sweater. As he was leaving the store, he ran into a friend, and even then...his pride overtook him, and he showed his friend his new purchase. He couldn't wait to get home and put it on.

The first time he wore the sweater...he felt like a million bucks. He got compliments on how great it made him look, how it fit like a glove. This feeling continued...everytime he wore it, he loved it more.

As the sweater began to take on a life of it's own....it became the standby...the go to article that made the man feel good. Through the years, it may have gotten frayed around the elbows...it may have had some pulls in the yarn....but he always loved and adored it...it was a part of him. He took it with him when he travelled...and left it in the car as a "just incase".

One blustery Fall afternoon...he came out of work, to find his car had been broken into....his phone was gone..the change in his coffee reserve jar was gone...right down to the penny. But the most heartbreaking item to be stolen...was the grey sweater. His heart sank....his palms got sweaty....he felt angry and intent all at the same time...." I MUST find my sweater....I love it...it's a part of me".

For weeks...he looked intently at every stranger passing, he checked second hand shops..he even looked more closely at garbage bins...hoping for a miracle. And just as he had given up all hope...and thought his pursuit may never bring back that which was lost...there it was....the item he had been yearning for. The thief had a moment of clarity...the thief had no need for this item...the thief left it beside the car, with a note saying..." I know you must have loved this sweater...it smells like you, and it is your fit....I can't use it..it belongs to you".

He immediately put it on, right there in the parking lot. That which had cost him much...that which had become a part of his entity...that which DID NOT belong to the thief. The rightful ownership was to the man who loved it from the first moment he laid eyes on it...the man who purchased it at great cost... and tirelessly searched for it to bring it back home.