Gifts from the Heart
© Mari Brodersen
Gifts. We all enjoy giving and receiving them. I like choosing a gift for someone I love, wrapping it, and watching the person open it. The expression of delight fills me with a warm glow. And, of course, I love to open a well-chosen gift from someone who loves me!
Gifts come in all sizes, shapes, and price ranges. Some are bought in a store or over the Internet. Others are lovingly handmade. The recipient frequently senses when someone has chosen or created a gift with love and care. Such gifts may provide a lifetime of happy memories.
Those memories, along with the thoughtfulness that went into choosing or making the gift, give it its value. Certainly it is not a monetary value, but to call it "sentimental" seems to trivialize it. Perhaps we could call it "soul value." We sense the soul value of gifts given to us, and perhaps - for a moment - we even catch a glimpse of the giver's soul.
I know a woman who values her friends immensely. She frequently surprises them with what she calls "love gifts" - small gifts spontaneously given for no particular reason.
She happens to run across something that reminds her of a friend, so she buys it for that person and puts it in a gift bag. Usually, it's an exquisite fresh fruit or a delightfully scented soap. She also makes gifts - again, these are spontaneous expressions of her love for her friends. When I receive a gift from her, it's as if our souls connect briefly - and I see in her all that makes her such a special person.
One of the best - and most memorable - gifts that I have ever received was on my most recent birthday. A friend, whose life seems to be filled to the brim with family and work and activities, gave me the gift of time. She took me out for a leisurely Sunday brunch, during which we talked about those things that are most important to us.
The keys to this being a memorable and loving gift were: we were completely relaxed, unhurried, and I felt like we could spend as much time as we liked; and we talked about things that are more signifcant to us than the superficial aspects of our lives.
Contrast this to a birthday lunch with another friend who was rushed the entire time, quickly reported to me how busy her schedule is, and then rushed off after 45 minutes. Of course it hurt my feelings. But, unfortunately, I think this is probably the norm in many modern "friendships." Many women my age juggle the increasing demands of careers, husbands, children, parents, siblings, church activities, and volunteer work - leaving little or no time for friendships and personal time. This brings home the idea that taking the time to spend with a friend is truly a valued gift, one with soul value.
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