Have you ever received a perfect gift? One that was uniquely thought of for just you? That made you feel like you were known? Seen? That someone took the time to think about you?
It has nothing to do with money. It has everything to do with the thought and consideration that went into the gift.
I recently received a gift like that. The person put a lot of planning and thought into the gift and how the gift was delivered. She made a “book” with the cover of one of my favourite authors, to house the gift that incorporated reading and dance. I loved it. I appreciated her thoughtfulness. I felt seen and known. It was a priceless gift at a turbulent time.
I love gifts. In church speak, it’s one of my love languages. A long time ago, I worked in a high end pewter gift store in Ottawa and Toronto. We had a gifts for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and graduations. I learned a lot about gift giving and gift givers.
In today’s fast paced world, the art of gift giving is becoming extinct. We don’t have time to slow down and stop and think about gifts anymore. For some of us, gift giving is not something we are especially good at. Things can be complicated. I get that. But even if we are more of a gift card person or money person, we can still make the time to buy a gift card from a store the person likes or to buy things they love. We can take the time to get or make a nice card, add some candy or chocolate to adorn it if that’s what the person likes. Gift giving is about the other person not us. The art of gift giving makes the person receiving the gift feel special.
The bonus? The gift giver gets the pleasure of seeing the gift enjoyed, which is a special experience all on it’s own.
The art of gift giving mirrors the one who gives us good gifts.
So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. Matt 7:11 NLT
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow. James 1:17
The ultimate Gift Giver gives us good gifts because He is good and as James says, He never changes. His goodness remains. Even in the hard times. I saw that first hand recently. In difficult circumstances, God laid out some good gifts to help us through. Gifts that were uniquely garnered to me (and my family). He didn’t change the circumstances but He did let me know He saw me, He knows me, and He loves me. He did it through those gifts. Even though I doubted Him. Even though I was mad at Him. But He is good and He never changes. Our doubts, our anger, our questions do not affect His character. Or His love for us. He offers us grace upon grace.
From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. John 1:16 NLT
As the Ultimate Gift Giver, God gave us the most perfect gift of all that none of us deserved. His Son. Jesus was the ultimate gift to a world that rejected him and still does. But He was given for all of us. Freely. Graciously and with deep love. He is the perfect gift. All we have to do is receive Him and then enjoy Him as we get to know Him.
As an added note, I realize that sometimes we give good gifts that are not well received for whatever reason. God certainly understands that. I want to remind you that the onus of that lies with the person receiving the gift. As the gift giver, you’ve done all you can. But don’t let that stop you from continuing to give good gifts to others. You may never know the blessings that come from them in this lifetime but God does. And one day you will too. Keep giving good gifts.