A gift sour, sweet, just right

I tucked a mental note away first thing yesterday morning as I pondered the Joy Dare suggestions for January 10th.

Almost immediately, without a conscious effort of my own, a mental rewind button was activated and quickly stopped at a memory nearly twelve hours earlier.

Yes, there in the kitchen, I saw myself busy loading the dishwasher when one of my adult sons approached his mama.

"Here Mom," I remembered his deep voice saying while handing me a tiny green foil package.  "You'll really like this."

I paused briefly from the dirty dishes for an interruption that seemed important to him.


"Uh... thank-you," I replied politely as he paused to soak in my reaction.   "I'll eat it later."  I placed it on the hutch and turned to stuff another dirty plate in the dishwasher.

I remembered thinking to myself as my son left the kitchen ... "I don't want chocolate.  I'm still trying to shed those pesky Buckeye and Christmas Cookie pounds from last month!"

A wave of guilt washed over me as I replayed the memory.  There it was.  A moment.  A microscopic fleeting moment... with my eyes wide open... as Ann Voskamp describes in her beautiful One Thousand Gifts video.

And I missed it.


No longer do my sons pick dandelions in the side yard and proudly present them to their mama saying, "I picked these for you Mom.  Do you like them?"   A loving gesture that always made my heart swell as their grubby little boy hands and twinkling eyes danced with excitement and love.

It was never about the dandelions.

As seasons change and children grow-up, those cute, sweet reminders of a child's love become harder to see ... but they are still there.   So today and throughout 2014 as I count my own one thousand gifts ... I'm reminded to keep my eyes wide open for gifts in seemingly small, insignificant, and different packaging.

A sour gift?  A microscopic, fleeting moment of love ... missed & unappreciated the moment received.  #28
A sweet gift?   A dear son's loving gesture ... who's grown-up eyes still twinkle with excitement and love for his mama.  #29
A gift just right?  Savoring a small, heavenly square of chocolate and the lesson along with it.  #30



Comments

  1. BekahJanuary 11, 2014 at 8:33 PM

    Mmmmm so beautifully said, my friend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheryl RamsayJanuary 12, 2014 at 8:54 AM

      Thank you, sweet Bekah. It was a very humbling self-evaluation...but richly rewarding.

      Delete
  2. Linda StollFebruary 27, 2014 at 8:39 AM

    Hey Cheryl ... thanks for letting your readers know about the Creekside blog over on the sidebar of your site! How cool is that! I so appreciate you sharing what we're offering with your friends.

    Warmest blessings to you, to yours!

    ;-}

    ReplyDelete

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