Gifts from the Heart

Gifts from the heart require time, effort, love, thoughts, and action put into practice.  Sometimes monetary sacrifices are also part of the present.  Such stories and examples inspire, motivate, challenge, and encourage me to want to do likewise.

Our son Brad and his wife went to Tennessee to visit Melinda’s sister and family for Thanksgiving.  Upon arriving at their home, their 4 year old niece proudly showed them a figurine of a dog that she had painted.  When inquiring about the dog, Lindsley said that she had painted it to give to Melinda.  Being so touched by the gift, Melinda named the dog “Thankful,” since it was given to her during the Thanksgiving holidays.  Now it is displayed in their home as a constant reminder of how thankful she is for her Nashville family and a niece that gave such a thoughtful gift of love from her heart.

Our niece, Sarah, works at the Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina, Hawaii.  Since it is busy all year round, and due to expense, she does not get to come home very often.  Even though she was able to keep up with family by phone, texts, and pictures during Hurricane Harvey, it was still hard for Sarah to be away during the storm, especially since her parents’ home flooded.  Without anyone knowing, Sarah arrived in town in the wee hours of this past Sunday morning, spent the night at a hotel, and called her brother to pick her up on his way to church.  They went to church and waited to greet family in the foyer as they were on their way to worship.  Since 15 of our family go to South Main Baptist Church in Pasadena, there was quite a surprise and joyous reunion.  After Hurricane Harvey, my sister, Micki, and her husband, Mark, had friends and family that helped take out the flooring and sheetrock, throw out things that were ruined, and sanitize their home.  Then they waited for the walls and floor to dry.  Now the rebuilding is starting.  They have replaced the insulation and sheetrock, floated and taped the walls and are still in the process of having floors installed, for the second time, and start painting.  They are patiently waiting for their home to come back together and are still in the process of trying to decide the right colors to paint the walls and cabinets.  God has gifted Sarah with an amazing artistic eye for decorating and color.  While here, she has helped finalize colors, pick the paint, and begun painting walls and cabinets.  On her “vacation” Sarah has painted the living room, dining room, entry way, and the lower cabinets in the kitchen.  She has even wrapped Christmas gifts!  Sarah and Kevin, my nephew, also surprised my sister and brother-in-law by replacing their outside Christmas lights and decorating the front of the house and yard.  They also put up a small tree and Christmas décor upstairs.  Sarah and Kevin’s gifts of the heart have added much joy, hope, encouragement, enthusiasm, and happiness to the process.  Since another sister and brother-in-law are very involved with “A South Main Bethlehem,” a live nativity and scenes of Bethlehem at church, Sarah beautifully decorated the inside of their home with their Christmas decorations.  That was another greatly appreciated and treasured gift of the heart in this already very busy season.  

As we’ve unpacked and put up our Christmas decorations, I’ve been reminded of other sacrificial gifts from the heart.  My mother’s youngest sister, the last of her three siblings, passed away this fall.  Aunt Ann was 12 years old when I was born, so she has always been a significant part of my growing up memories.  Aunt Ann lived in California.  She faithfully called on birthdays, holidays, or any time she heard news about events that might be of concern to us in Houston. As she aged, Aunt Ann developed arthritis in her hands, but she still made and sent homemade Christmas ornaments through the years.  I treasure the ornaments and two nativities she made for me, especially knowing that sore, tired fingers lovingly made every stitch in them.  

 And God has blessed each of us with the ultimate best gift from the heart, His one and only son, Jesus, who gave His life as the sacrifice for our sins.  The acceptance of His gift offers us salvation and a relationship with Him for eternity.  Since we have been so richly blessed, may we, too, be generous givers from the heart during this Christmastime and year round.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

2 Corinthians 9:15

“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Acts 20:35

But since you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you – see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

2 Corinthians 8:7