I love this quote of how our true gifts need to come from our true being:
Rings and jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only gift is a portion of yourself. You must bleed for me. Therefore the poet brings his poem; the shepherd, his lamb; the farmer, corn; the miner, a stone; the painter, his picture; the girl, a handkerchief of her own sewing.
This past week, I called a family that had their home destroyed completely by fire to followup with them about their recovery. They'd moved into another house and while the wife talked about cleaning the kitchen, she casually mentioned that there wasn't much to clean inside the cabinets--"at least I don't have any dishes in the way," is what she said. I offered to bring by a kitchen set, pots, pans, dishes and silverware that had been donated. She was grateful and accepted, but I don't think any of us (myself, herself, her husband) expected to cry so hard in front of each other whenever I dropped off that ordinary cardboard box.
ReplyDeleteI told that story to further show how deeply profound little gifts can be when they're given in great love. I pray we all learn to give to one another with such love!
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