My husband and I celebrated our fiftieth anniversary not too long ago. Over the years, he has gifted me many, many times. It is just something he likes to do, and often I am blessed with fresh flowers, and often I am blessed with very practical gifts which I happen to like, contrary to some wives – a new vacuum cleaner, a hubby job of cleaning the carpets (which he does well), a dishwasher that works, or the new windows that will soon be installed. And, yes, I do, intermittently, get the more feminine things too from blouses to jewelry to perfume. But when I found an empty, basic but nice, 8 x 10 inch black frame on my kitchen counter, I was surprised. Who left it? What was it for? My husband walked in to explain. “I thought,” he said, “it would go nice with this,” and he handed me an envelope with a picture inside - a picture of a memorial marker with the words, “‘Let the little children come to Me... for of such is the kingdom of God.’ and He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them. Mark 10:14-16" The significance of that picture was profoundly overwhelming. Our daughter had died at birth more than 40 years previously. Her body had been donated to medical science, and for over 40 years, we had known nothing about what had happened to her body or her remains. The picture my husband gave to me was the memorial marker at the place where our daughter’s ashes were buried after she had helped medical science all she could. We had only very recently found the answers to the questions our hearts had held for decades. That picture represented our daughter Tonia who was birthed on Earth, and grew up dancing in the presence of Jesus in Heaven. It was a picture that now hangs on the welcoming wall as you enter our home – the welcoming wall that now displays something of each member of our family – all six of us. It was a gift to my heart, a gift beyond monetary value, a gift that met a need deep within the recesses of my inner being.
How often do we receive such gifts? From others, occasionally. Every once in awhile someone else looks deeply within us and gives to meet the need of the heart. And most often, those gifts aren’t tangible. A gift of understanding, comfort, or acceptance. The gift of forgiveness. Some gifts are somewhat tangible, but they can’t be bought with cash or check or credit card. The gift of presence, of knowing someone is not just withyou, but they are for you. They believe in you. They give a hug when a hug is most needed. Or, they take your hand or rub your shoulder. They come early, stay late, give no hint of inconvenience. They listen. They pray. They hear God’s heart and they share it with you. Oh, sometimes, the gifts are tangible, but the common and the small usually speak most profoundly to your heart, just like my husband’s did to me.
And yet there is One who delights in giving gifts to our hearts. He is the Master of such gift-giving for He most sees the need and He is fully capable of meeting the need. He began with Adam in the garden and gave him everything he could possibly need to sustain and enrich his life. And even when Adam scoffed at the Gift-giver and chose to walk in his own choices, God was still there, ready to give. Ready to meet the most crucial need of my heart, the need for forgiveness, a forgiveness that makes the Gift-giver my Savior, my Friend, my Provider. And then He continues to give for He intimately knows my heart. Whatever the need, He longs to give – with a wisdom that far exceeds my own and with a consistency and dependability beyond human capability. I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. ... the one who allows me to experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then I will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
(Related Bible reading: Psalm 121:1-8; Ephesians 3:14-21)
How often do we receive such gifts? From others, occasionally. Every once in awhile someone else looks deeply within us and gives to meet the need of the heart. And most often, those gifts aren’t tangible. A gift of understanding, comfort, or acceptance. The gift of forgiveness. Some gifts are somewhat tangible, but they can’t be bought with cash or check or credit card. The gift of presence, of knowing someone is not just withyou, but they are for you. They believe in you. They give a hug when a hug is most needed. Or, they take your hand or rub your shoulder. They come early, stay late, give no hint of inconvenience. They listen. They pray. They hear God’s heart and they share it with you. Oh, sometimes, the gifts are tangible, but the common and the small usually speak most profoundly to your heart, just like my husband’s did to me.
And yet there is One who delights in giving gifts to our hearts. He is the Master of such gift-giving for He most sees the need and He is fully capable of meeting the need. He began with Adam in the garden and gave him everything he could possibly need to sustain and enrich his life. And even when Adam scoffed at the Gift-giver and chose to walk in his own choices, God was still there, ready to give. Ready to meet the most crucial need of my heart, the need for forgiveness, a forgiveness that makes the Gift-giver my Savior, my Friend, my Provider. And then He continues to give for He intimately knows my heart. Whatever the need, He longs to give – with a wisdom that far exceeds my own and with a consistency and dependability beyond human capability. I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. ... the one who allows me to experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then I will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
(Related Bible reading: Psalm 121:1-8; Ephesians 3:14-21)
