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We should never take for granted the special time that we have with those
closest to us. The most important thing that we share with one another is
the gift of ourselves. Material possessions and objects of desire over
time will lose their luster, but the conversations, time spent with one
another and simply being in those moments of love will outlast even the
greatest of material interests. We must remember that Love is the
greatest of all gifts and keep in mind the short time that we have with
one another. We must not waste our special moments with things that do not
matter, but rather we should make known our love so that down the line,
there will be no doubt in their minds concerning how we feel about them.
Be encouraged to let that one know how special they are to you now. It
can be said simply on a card, in a letter or spoken face to face. Do not
leave doubt because trusting in tomorrow is a mistake that many have
made. The Bible says our life is like a vapour that appears for a short
time and then vanishes away. You will be glad you took the initiative to
let those closest to you know how special they are to you. (James 4:14)
I hope this message encourages your heart to see that the best of gifts
are given from the heart. Monetary value does not necessarily mean
unspeakable joy or happiness. The love value will mean much more than you
can ever think or imagine.
FROM TIME TO TIME
When I noticed the unused tissue on top of the neatly folded towels in the
bathroom, I drifted back in time to my childhood...
The weather had turned sharply colder and Christmas was nearing. Feeling
grown up, privileged to know that Santa was “in spirit” and didn't really
come down chimneys, I decided that the mature thing to do was to get a
gift for my mom.
We were poor, but only in money, yet my mom managed to have gifts for my
six siblings and me every year. It was one of my first realizations that
my mom was struggling to raise us. I guess some would call it maturing.
But being only eight years old, I had never bought a gift before. I
wasn't sure what to buy or where to get it. I emptied the change from my
bank, earned from collecting empty soda bottles, and headed to the local
drugstore. They had everything you could ever want there.
When I entered the store, the air was warm and thick with odors. Even
though Weber's Pharmacy sold medicine, they also sold so many wonderful
things, and if I close my eyes, I can still smell the store's scent to
this day.
Wandering up and down each black-and-white tiled aisle, I carefully
considered each item on every shelf. I looked at medicines and powders
and things for illnesses that I couldn't even pronounce. With each item, I
pictured my mother's expression while she opened it on Christmas morning.
It was a difficult task.
I saw stockings and perfumes and I looked at watches in a glass counter
that had rotating shelves, pressing the button to rotate each shelf. I
knew that the change in my pocket wasn't enough to buy one, but I picked
out the one she'd like best anyway.
I began to feel discouraged and without hope that I would find something.
But when I turned into the last aisle, I saw exactly what I was looking
for. It was next to the bars of bath soap -- the perfect gift -- a great
big box of tissues.
Now, a box of tissues may not sound like much of a gift to you, but they
were one thing we never had in our house when I was growing up. With
seven children and very little money, tissues were a true luxury item for
us. My mother never bought them and for an obvious reason -- they would
be gone in a day or two. I laughed out loud thinking of how my mother
always said my brothers wasted things like that.
I remember considering how my mother could have the luxury of her very own
box. Not for the bathroom or where everyone would take some, but rather,
to put on her own dresser where she wouldn't have to share them at all.
I had a great big smile on my face as I took the box from the shelf and
confidently walked to the cash register, satisfied in my gift selecting
expertise. My mom was going to love this.
Christmas morning came, and my mother, the most kind-hearted person in the
world, loved the tissues.
Aren't moms just the best! That satisfied feeling I had in the drug store
returned again when I saw her happiness. The joy we felt couldn't have
been any greater, even if it had been a necklace of gold.
Sadly, it was her only gift.
That year, I learned how to give a gift to someone special by selecting it
with painstaking consideration and thoughtfulness, and wrapping it with
ribbons of love.
Today, as I looked at that tissue on top of the folded towels, I remembered
what I had learned. I realized just how far I've come in life and how
blessed I am.
From a time when a simple tissue was a luxury, to a time when one can be
left unused and discarded, we should never go so far that we forget the
little things that held big lessons and molded who we are.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “What lies behind us and what lies before us
are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
I picked up the tissue and wiped tears of love and appreciation from my eyes.
By Jeanette Broderick
Read and meditate on these scriptures:
1 John 4:7-11 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and
every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not
knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God
toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world,
that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God,
but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our
sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”
Romans 12:9-10 “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is
evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another
with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.”
Romans 12:15-18 “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them
that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things,
but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of
all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with
all men.”
Galatians 5:22-26 “...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified
the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us
also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one
another, envying one another.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth
not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself
unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things,
believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity
never faileth...”
All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.
Today's Selected Poem: TRUE LOVE AND PEACE
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/inpoem177.htm
Today's Selected Testimony: THE DAY THE ANGELS REJOICED
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony133.htm
In Christ’s Service,
Dwayne Savaya
God’s Work Ministry |
