READING: John 5: 19-29
Worn out screen-print, a tethered American flag, and chew marks appear on this pen that I hold. The woman, similar in appearance, is limp, hopeless, and emotionally drained. As I ask her if she wants the pen back, she meekly replies, "No, it’s my gift to you; I’m sorry that is all I have." Then while I was standing there trying to decipher the meaning of the pen in my hand, I recognize that my life has changed forever. Just moments before I received this gift I was volunteering at the Christian Sharing Center Christmas Toy Drive, where underprivileged mothers and fathers come to receive free toys for their children. As I was helping unload the toys into this woman's rusted car, I was handed this pen; it redefined Christmas for me. This woman and the experience affect me everyday. Whether it is giving on a mission trip, or simply lending an ear to someone that has had a bad day, I know that I am giving a gift to them that is even sweeter than money or material goods. As in the words Eileen Elias Freeman once said, "It isn't the size of the gift that matters, but the size of the heart that gives it." Not only did I learn to not take small things in life for granted, but to look into the future with a positive attitude and to cherish the people that have formed me into the person I am today.
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