The Perfect Gift
A friend reminisced about her dad who worked many hours every day at hard, manual labor. There was never much money and there were many mouths to feed in their home.
When my friend was around six, all she could talk about was the new doll she wanted for Christmas. She did not fully understand the heart burden it must have put on her parents, knowing their little girl wanted something so terribly and there was no money to buy it. All she knew was she wanted a doll like her friends had.
Her father, though, was not only hard working but determined. His job took him to several area junk yards each week. And so, after completing his daily work, he would push through the smelly trash, looking for something he could turn into a treasure for his little girl.
He found a doll body with one leg here, another salvageable arm and leg there, and although it took several weeks of digging through reeking garbage, he finally had enough pieces to make a whole doll.
He spent hours cleaning it, wiring it together, painting on features worn off, and even washing and styling the blonde hair until it was shinier than the day it came out of the box. Her mom sewed a little outfit for it out of an old dish towel and finished it off with a small red ribbon in the hair.
When she opened her present Christmas morning, she was overcome with joy and was inseparable from her new doll. When school started back, she happily took her doll with her. Even though it did not look like other dolls and some of the other kids taunted her and made fun of it, she did not care. She loved it with all her heart.
Even now, over 50 years later, tears moisten her eyes as she talks of her gratitude for the many hours her dad spent to make sure his little girl had what she wanted.
We have a Heavenly Father who has promised to never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) We have a Heavenly Father who has promised to provide for us. (Matt7:7-11)
And this is truth. The money we spend today is rarely going to be remembered for long. But the sacrificial kindness and the goodness of God that we release into the world will not only last, but will multiply into eternity.
God gives each of us gifts, or talents, or abilities. It is the same Spirit that works within each of us and works through us in many different ways. When you are flowing or working in the abilities that God placed within you, not everyone will recognize them. You may not be appreciated or complimented. In fact, there are times you might even be mocked!
