Gifts

I have received some amazing gifts.  As I reflect, two extremes come to mind.  One of the strangest (often taken as “bad”) gifts has, over time, brought so much humor to my life that I think on it with deep appreciation!  The other was a simple handmade father's day card from Whitney. 
There are always two sides to gifts, a giver and receiver.  I love the challenge of finding something with someone's name on it.  I thrive on the quest.  I look forward to releasing it without reservation.  Yet, it takes two to make a gift special.
How do you receive gifts?  What are the criteria for you that make a gift special?  Does the price matter?
When the giver assumes, it can be a script for disaster.  In one case, Moses “thought his brothers would be glad that he was on their side, and even see him as an instrument of God to deliver them.  But they didn't see it that way.” (Acts 7.25)  Others stories go on to tell how receivers turned on their givers, rejecting the gift with violence and harm.
In many ways, the receiver holds a crucial key in the process.  When I received a spider web infested bird feeder, made from scrap Cyprus limbs to hold spoiled fruit, I do not recall reacting with any kind of enthusiasm.  I had no idea how much joy that feeder would bring in my life!  In my response, I squandered an opportunity to embrace the intent, no matter how unusual it was. 
Lesson, accept all intentional acts of love, they are priceless gifts from one to another.
When I reread the father's day card and allow my senses to experience the writing and art that followed, I find myself sitting at God feet experiencing what it is to be in community.  We are all part of God's family.  We are brothers and sisters, lovers and friends, and children of God. 
Lesson, the value of a gift from one heart to another cannot be measured, only treasured.
Value today's gifts, they are each priceless.