Knowing Gifts

This isn't my typical post but, like Milly, I write fiction from time to time and these were the two scriptures that sparked me to write this below. I was preparing to speek at our couples group on giving and thought that this story summed up a lot of things:

Luke 9:28-36 (NIV)
28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.
29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.
30 Two men, Moses and Elijah,
31 appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.
32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was saying.)
34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him."
36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.


Genesis 4:2-5 (NIV)

2 Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.
3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD.
4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

o-=-=-=-o

A young boy wanted to surprise his mother for mother’s day. So he picked up his piggy-bank, counted the money and he went to a little general store about a block from their house. After looking up and down the aisles of that store, the little boy finally found the perfect gift for her. It was a gift that was something that he had personally eyed many times and he was certain that his mother would love it too. As the old man behind the counter peered over to see the young customer he began to scowl: “You're not buying that are you?”

“I am sir”, Tommy took a deep breath and gleamed with pride.

“Well what are you going to do with it?”

“It’s for my mom!” Tommy thought it was an odd question and the clerk's facial gesture was equally perplexing.

“Oh…. Very well then. That will be $8.73 cents.”

Tommy looked down at his hard earned allowance money. He knew that this would pretty much wipe him out financially. He then thought about all of the great things his mom had done for him and how surprised she was going to be. That zeal carried him to make the purchase, as well as a candy bar for the trip home.

The clerk carefully bagged the gift and gave Tommy a once-over glance. “Make sure that she gets this!” His look was pretty intense. Enough for Tommy to stutter and look away when he replied.

“You bet sir! I know she will love it.”

He couldn’t wait to get home and wrap the present. His bike wouldn't go fast enough. He arrived home to see that his mom was gone and only his dad was in the house. Blasting through the front door, Tommy made his way up to his bedroom. He stopped by the craft room to get scissors, tape, and paper.

His dad heard the ruckus, and walked over to Tommy’s room: ‘What’s the noise about?’

“Oh hey dad! I just went up to the store and got mom her Mother’s day gift.”

“Oh! That’s great son. What did you get her!”

Tommy hesitated, he knew that his dad couldn't keep a secret from his mom so he chimed up: “Well… I can’t tell you that or it wouldn’t be a surprise! Besides, I can’t wait for mom to open this! She is going to love it!”

“Umm, yes that's true son. Well?! Carry on! I’ll leave you to your wrapping!”

Tommy had never wrapped a gift before and it turns out that it was quite a challenge. After laboring for over two hours , he finally got the paper ‘just right’: a gift made primarily of crumpled and ripped paper and a lot of tape. Tommy was proud of his first try and the gift was completely wrapped.

He also made a card and drew some great pictures of him and her on it. It was corny, but his mom liked that sort of thing.

Tommy's father was so proud of his boy that in bed that night, he shared the ‘surprise’ with his wife. She too was tickled at what a loving thoughtful boy they had raised.

Mother’s day finally came and it was off to church but all Tommy could think about was giving his mother that gift. He and his dad woke up early that morning and made her a breakfast fit for a queen. Apart from burning the toast 2 times, it was a pretty good meal for a couple of fumbling guys. The family agreed to open gifts after church because they were running so late. The mess in the kitchen would also have to wait until after church.

As they exited church, after a surprisingly long service, Tommy ran to their mini-van and hopped in the back. He was so anxious to get home and have her open the gift. I can’t wait to see her face she is going to be SO happy! His parent proudly gazed at each other: it was that look of acknowledging what a winner of a kid that they were blessed with.

The church was only 3 miles from their house so it was a very short ride. Everybody unloaded from the van and headed for the house. Tommy waited at the door for his father to open it, while mom and dad got the stroller and unpacked the twins from their safety seats. Finally, they moved inside and headed right to the family room for mom to open gifts. Both mom and dad were brimming with pride for their boy.

Dad offered his pocket knife to help cut through the layers of tape on the gift. It was like a mummy made of celephane. Make no mistake, Tommy's mom was indeed surprised as she tore away the carefully wrapped paper to reveal the ‘treasure’ that lurked inside: a Tom Sawyer handcrafted wrist rocket / slingshot. Tommy knew that his mother would love it because who wouldn’t?

To this day, the slingshot sits on the mantle above the fireplace. A gentle reminder that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.

o-=-=-=-o

If you have a close friend, spouse, or sibling and you made a list of three material things that they wanted, and you had them list three material things that they wanted. How close would those lists actually be?

If our desire is to give them the things that they want, we need to get a good grasp on the person: who they are, how they tick, their likes and dislikes. Knowing this can information, we can give them what they TRULY want, not what we think that they want.

How can we find out what their needs our?

Communication: Talk about goals, aspiration, likes and dislikes, and projects.

Observation: Watch what they do and like. Learn their MO so to speak

Spend Time: By spending time we get more into their thought processes

Feedback: Learn from mistakes.

Take Yourself Out: Think of them, not of what you will get or what you like… don’t buy them the gift you always wanted

Prayer: Seek God individually to assure that you are on the right track.

Take It Easy: Knowing their needs will save you time and frustration

By giving things that we think that they want rather than what hey really want, aren't we sending a message to them: that they are possibly just items on the checklist? Going through the trouble of truly figuring out what they REALLY want takes time and effort, but it does pay great dividends. First off, it actually makes the act of giving easier. Many times the perfect gift, or offering is much easier to obtain than throwing time, money, and other resources at the problem, especially at the last minute.

Now apply this to your walk with the Lord: what do we lay at the altar before God that we think He wants? I'm reminded of the scripture that says 'But we did these things in your name', and God replies 'Depart from me you workers of iniquity! I never knew you!'. That scripture is haunting to me: it's a warning that we need to know God, and in doing so, we will be able to 'give' Him what is good and appropriate.

Like Tommy though, nothing compares with a giving heart. You see, Tommy wanted to give his mom the very best of gifts. I know that is my heart too

God Bless
Doug

All In A Day

Waking up in the dark was never pleasant to me. That annoying alarm would chime, waking me from a battle with aliens from another galaxy: they would have to wait for another night to resolve our conflict. My mom placed the clock on the other side of my room, so I would have to get out from my warm cocoon and traverse the cold, perilous, toy-laden walkway from my bed to the dresser to shut it off. School beckoned and the day was already clamoring for my appearance.

Stumbling around, I would find the light. Wow! That was bright! My day began. Clothes were easy to find. My mom provided a nice batch of them for me to put in my drawers every couple of days. Not much in the way of choices here: a white shirt, black pants, and a clip-on tie. Yep, the joys of a school uniform made for little in the way of a fashion conundrum, but the socks, you could make quite a statement with your socks! I had a pair of Ohio State dress socks. On one side was Brutus, (our Buckeye mascot), on the other, a scarlet helmet. These socks were cool and they were my favorite.

I made my way out of my room down to the kitchen: one side of my shirt still untucked, and my clip-on tie hanging in the throws because the top button of my shirt was also unbuttoned. I walked by the mirror and saw my hair. My goodness was it spooky. I looked like Wolverine, from the X-Men Comics. I thought it was great, but I knew what my mom and the nuns would say. Quickly, I made a pit-stop at the bathroom, and doused my glorious crown with some water.

On to breakfast! The cereal de jour? Peanut Butter-Cap’n Crunch of course! The greatest cereal ever made. I had my Speed-racer bowl, a spoon, and I would take the whole gallon of milk and lug it to the table. I had to make sure there was plenty of milk in the bowl for me to drink at the end of my cereal feast!

About this time, my mom would make her appearance with a brush and some bows for my sister. I was so thankful that I didn’t have long hair. Watching my mom work the knots out of her hair was painful, and I wasn’t the one who was getting it! I got spanked way more than Trish, but my sister was punished every morning. At some point my mom would look over at me and insist that I come over for a second and let her ‘fix’ my hair. I would resistively comply.

It was time to head to the bus stop. In the middle of winter, we weren’t allowed to hang out at the stop for too long. In fact, because the bus made a loop around our neighborhood, my mom would wait until she saw it before releasing us to go there. These last five minutes were always a panic in our house. ‘Have you got your lunch? Homework? Is there anything that I need to sign? Have you thought about confession?’ The normal pre-bus grilling went by without a hitch. It was on to school. Just a normal day, in the life of… well… me!

The bus ride to school was the first sign of real problems. My friend Charles asked me how I did on the math homework. ‘What math homework?’ Uh oh! I totally forgot that it was due! Quickly I scrounged in my book bag for some paper. ‘Charles, I need to look at yours!’, with hesitance he shows me his, but I couldn’t do it. If we get caught we both would get in trouble. I hand it back, and just ask to borrow his math book. I’m writing like a madman, fortunately math was easy for me. I got them done just as the bus is pulling into the parking lot. ‘Thanks Chaz for the book.’ Charles smiled, and I think he breathed a sigh that I did it without copying his. Truthfully though, part of the reason I didn’t copy his was that he wasn’t very good at math: I was no saint.

Whew! One bullet dodged. What else was heading my way? Homework! Homework! Homework! Every class, the teacher was piling more of this stuff on to our plate. Doesn’t she want us to have a life? This is going to take all afternoon! At least it was lunch and recess time! My friend Mike would trade lunch parts with me. We both would get in line and get our chocolate milk and divvy up our lunch booty. We had to hurry if we were going to make it to the ‘games’. We scarfed down our food like a pack of rabid dogs and headed for the front parking lot.

At St. Matthew’s, we had a parking lot as a play ground. On most days, there was four-square, tetherball, and a game of asphalt-soccer. On icy-days, we’d play a game of ‘ice-running’. Now this was not like hockey with skates: it was running around in our dress-shoes trying not to break our necks. Mike and I loved playing. He, and his brother Sam, had great balance. I, on the other hand, was a bit less… umm… ‘coordinated’, but it never stopped me from trying. This year, playing on the ice was particularly interesting because it was during the winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.

Many of us would go home after school and watch Americans like Peter Meuler’s race for our country. I think he ended up with one or two medals, but I know he struck gold once. It inspired us to go run around the ice even more. So Mike and I made our way into the running ranks. We’d use book bags to mark the corners of the ‘track’, and someone would act as the ‘officiator’ of the games. It was my turn and I was in a good heat. The pack I was running with weren’t the strongest. I figured I could take them all and make it to the next heat. Sure enough, my heart started pounding faster as the ‘official’ said ‘on your mark’. By the time he said ‘Go!’ my heart was ready to burst. A spastic flow of energy disseminated though my body: every muscle came to life in awkward beauty.

The trick in ice running was maintaining control around the corners. There were many ways to do this. Mike and Sam could do the corners with ease: their coordination allowed them to walk the line between balance and speed. I relied on my motivation. I made it through the first two corners without issue and was well ahead of the pack on the back-straight when my trouble arose. It seems that a car must have spun its wheels on the ice leaving a nearly invisible layer of sand on it. What was invisible to the eye was quite apparent to the feet. As I sloshed through the ice, all of the sudden my shoes acquired traction and it sent me flying through the air.

It is funny how time slows in moments of panic like this. I was in the air long enough to know that when I hit, it was going to hurt: I was not left disappointed. On a non-icy surface your hands will break the fall, though they may get a little scuffed in the process, it is better than hitting your noggin. On ice, you can put your hands out ahead of you, but as you hit, they will just slide out of the way, allowing for a pretty solid hit on your face. In my case, my chin took the brunt of the blow. Pain rocked my rather puny little body. I was a little dazed too.

As I regained my senses, I noticed a large crowd had gathered around me. Some looked at me like I was one of those science exhibits from COSI, others looked like they were watching a horror movie. Mike was the first through the crowd to come down and actually try to help me. It was then that I looked down and saw the problem. My shirt was drenched in blood, and my chin was hurting pretty badly. I remained pretty calm, but inside I wanted to cry, eventually the cry in me won and I literally screamed in pain. Mike did his best to comfort me as someone else ran and got one of the priests.

Father Smith quickly scurried out there, and before long, I was moved into the nurse’s office where I was given a blanket, hot chocolate, and told that my parents would be there shortly. Everybody was great to me. The principal, a lady whom I was re-introduced to every so often, was particularly nice. I finally made my way to an emergency room, where this unwilling patient was sewn back together. I believe it was fifteen stitches in my chin which required my dad to hold me still for the entire ‘operation’.

When I woke up that morning I had no idea what was in store for me on that day. Life’s many curves left me unprepared for the events that took place. God shares this with us too:

Luke 12:16-20 (NKJV)

16 Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?

There are many lessons here but two primarily stick out. The first is to store up treasures where they will matter. The second one is that we cannot ‘see’ the future. As we prepare for our day, we are not guaranteed it. Rich Mullins wrote a song once called ‘Live Right’:

Live like you’ll die tomorrow
Die knowing you’ll live forever… Live right!

Each day matters and the course of that day, even when we walk hand in hand with God, is not certain: our destination may be, but the path is still up in the air to us.

As my wife and I have walked though these past few weeks with the challenges of our youngest daughter, we are reminded of how precious life is and how we need to embrace each day, knowing that God is in charge. Our mundane tasks are merely stepping stones along this journey. Each moment should be seized, not just accepted: to the Glory and Honor of our God and Creator. God has poured His life into us, let us revel in its wonder!

In my older days, I still cringe on ice thinking of those spills, but that little slip didn’t phase me: I even bumped my chin a few more times, and up to that point of pain, it was still very fun. I want to greet each day with that kind of zeal!

God Bless
Doug