Gifts

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

Girl Scout cookie time arrived in February, and a theatre student at Wesleyan showed up to our musical rehearsal with a box of Thin Mints for me. It was a very sweet gesture. I am delighted to acknowledge that he and many other students offer to help me with things like getting to and from my car on the ice, or moving the keyboard around so I can hear and see better while accompanying for musical theatre. But this was a surprise.

I had the pleasure of sampling the Thin Mints, and then offering them to students who came by my keyboard backstage before rehearsal started. The delight in their eyes was creating such joy in my corner. I thanked my benefactor again, and told him he had reminded me that the best gifts are the ones we can share. It was such a thrill to feel like a fairy godmother.

For my most recent birthday celebration, my daughter in Korea told me to pick out some flowers, and she would pay me back for them. We were nervous about any flower delivery during the below-freezing temperatures. I had fun choosing what I wanted and putting them in my favorite vase. Then I loved looking at and smelling those flowers, and being reminded of not just spring, but of her presence.

My other daughter and her husband spent an intensive baking session making a gourmet cake for me. It was splendid in every way, and rich enough to enjoy with very thin slices. My daughter and I shared some at lunch on my birthday, and later in the day with her in-laws. There was still half a cake for me to nibble from at home, and I managed to spare a couple of slivers for the generous bakers. It was a magical cake.

She came over a few days later and brought me a print she had made and framed. It was a print of nasturtiums she had carved and then printed in three different colors of inks. My mother's favorite flowers were nasturtiums, and I have many objects of nasturtium-themed art that she collected in her lifetime. The gift was incredibly special because of my daughter's artistic skills, and because it referenced my mother, who continues to inspire us even though she is no longer on earth. It was meaningful also because my daughter had art lessons with a wonderful artist who is also no longer with us, but whose influence is felt by all who studied with her.

My Korean son-in-law sent me a gift card. His mother died a couple of years ago, and she loved to go shopping, so he wanted to give me what he would have given to his mother. As I drove out to go shopping, I stopped to talk to a neighbor who was cleaning debris from the street in front of her house, after the blizzards and thawing that made a mess of our city, and paralyzed much of our state. We talked about how it had been too cold until that day to even consider putting out a pot of pansies, but that we needed some color in our lives.

Without thinking, I went directly to buy some pansies with my gift card. I bought more than I needed, and put a little 4-pack in the front yards of my 6 nearest neighbors - the ones I had seen only briefly over the frigid winter months, but always enjoyed connecting with. It was so exciting to leave a little springy surprise in people's yards. It was like Thin Mints all over again. I don't know their reactions to the pansies, but I know I had a real party being the pansy fairy.

A birthday is a wonderful time to reflect on the gifts that God showers on me, and to open my eyes to the many ways those gifts can be shared. The best gifts have the loaves-and-fishes power of multiplying their scope and power with the joy they create.

Prayer: God who is the light of our birthday candles, help us to share the joy of your gifts by experiencing them in some way with others, so we can enjoy them even more. Remind us of our birthday spirit that revels in the delights of this world afresh. Thank you for the gift of people, and the privilege of giving to others. Amen.

Mollie Manner (reprinted from 2019)