From the Inside Out

(Reblogged from April 4, 2013)

It was late afternoon when the doorbell rang.

Through the sheer curtain at the window I could see D., from down the street. She and I had recently met and were becoming good friends.

“Is everything okay?” I asked while ushering D. inside.

“Oh, yes. It’s just…I have a present for you,” she replied. Sure enough, D. was carrying a wrapped box. We sat on the living room couch.

It was not Christmastime, and not my birthday. Why was she giving me a gift?

“Open it,” she encouraged.

“But, D.,” I hesitated.

“Go on!”

Upon removing the paper and taking the lid off the box, I beheld a lovely navy blue Bible with gilded pages.

Now you need to know, D.’s husband and mine were in seminary at the time. Neither of our households had much money to spare. So this gift seemed over-the-top extravagant to me. Of course I could not accept it.

“D., this is absolutely beautiful, but…”

She stopped me. “I chose to buy this for you; I want you to have it. Besides, if you won’t receive it, you’ll steal my blessing!”

D. was referring, of course, to Acts 20:35: It is more blessed to give than receive.

I had never considered that interpretation, but she was right. In order for a giver to be blessed, there does need to be a receiver.

“Besides,” D. continued with a grin. “I already wrote inside the front cover. I can’t take it back. So there!”

D.’s words of that long-ago afternoon still play in my mind when I find myself balking at unexpected or overly generous gifts. Even favors can make me uncomfortable. But if I don’t graciously receive, I steal the blessing from the giver.

And what’s at the bottom of my reluctance? I think it’s a sense of unworthiness and pride. Now there’s a strange set of opposites!

D.’s gift made me feel unworthy. I wasn’t deserving of her sacrificial gift.

Yet pride was part of my reaction, too. I didn’t need her gift. I already had a perfectly good Bible. Yes, it was an old and worn King James version, but it had served me well and could certainly continue to do so.

What I began to understand that day is: receiving well is in itself a form of generosity.

When I graciously express heartfelt gratitude for a gift, and share my appreciation for the time, effort, and thoughtfulness of the giver, I make a positive contribution of affirmation into her heart.

After D. left that day, I remember tearfully reading her inscription, and fingering the gilded pages. I felt incredibly honored, loved, and appreciated by D.’s gift.

Now, if it’s more blessed to give than receive, I wonder what D. felt as she walked home that afternoon? I pray she, too, felt honored, loved, and appreciated, even though my gratitude seemed paltry.

But surely the greater blessing came as God loved, honored, and appreciated D. for her gift.

*      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *     *

Heavenly Father, I thank you for D.’s example, still strong after all these years. May I never miss an opportunity to be a blessing to others, whether I am the giver or the receiver.

What lessons have you learned from the givers and receivers in your life? Tell us your story!

(Photo credit:  www.episcopalbookstore.com.)