The Gift must pale in comparison to the giver…

What is it about gifts? They carry so much impact. We beg for them from God, we hope for them on our birthdays and expect them at Christmastime.

Gifts are a huge part of our lives, they are a delicate thing- and are dependant on so many factors. We think that the gift is what is wrapped in beautiful paper and accompanied by a card-which of course has to be read first- when in fact the actual gift is the heart behind the thought.

The saying that “it’s the thought that counts” should actually read “ it is the heart behind the thought that counts”. It is our desire to be KNOWN. When someone knows you well enough to give you a great-thoughtful gift, it reinforces the value of you as a person and signifies the return on an investment that you have made in someone’s life.

A few years ago, a friend of mine was tight financially, and sought to give the most amazing gifts she could hand-make or buy at the dollar store. Having come from a family where the price of the gift was almost more important than the gift itself, it took me a while to understand the full extent of the significance of these dollar store gifts that I was receiving. However, knowing the tight financial spot that this dear friend was in, I would put on a happy face and say my thank-yous in the way that we all have learned from very young having had to deal with grandparent’s gifts that were just a little out of touch! But then one day, out of the blue, this friend mentioned that she was compiling a list of all the things she would buy me if she could. Knowing what a generous and kind-hearted person she is, this piqued my interest. Curious, I asked “Oh yeah, what would you buy me if you could?” She thought for a moment…. Then listed off about 10 things that while not expensive or extravagant, were proof that my friend had taken the time to hear my heart and to take note of the details of my life. In that moment, she gave me the best gift one friend could give another….. to be known.

After 25 years of wishing for tenderness and getting shiny gifts, of hoping for my father’s time and attention, and getting the latest gadget, after too many Christmases and birthdays full of hopes destroyed, I realized that it didn’t matter what was in the box. THIS was what I had been hoping for!! That year, what I wanted more than anything from this friend, was another list of “If I had a million dollars” gifts.

It has been a life lesson to know that the heart behind the gift is much more important than the gift itself. A gift is a poor substitute for relationship.

It MUST be the same way in our lives with God. I know that He loves to give good gifts to his children, and we are so blessed by Him.

Kids are so much smarter than we are! Every parent around me-and there are many- has at one time or another bemoaned the fact that their child is much more interested in the box the gift came in than the gift itself. It doesn’t matter that the gift that was inside was the last on the shelf and you had to kick an old lady to get it! They just want to play in the box.

It breaks my heart though to think I would allow a gift from God to distract me from His love and heart. I want so much to be the type of person who can receive the gifts of God and thank Him and then set aside that gift and take the time to gaze into His eyes, to lean against His shoulder and draw life from the place of being Known by Him.

Oh GOD, that your gifts would always pale in comparison to who you are and that my heart and my eyes would not be dazzled and distracted by the trappings and glitter. Capture my heart with the truth of who you are that you know me and you know what I want and need even more than I do.