Back to Gifts....

I wrote this week about surrendering your rights, specifically with respect to gifts.  This was in light of hearing a wife complaining about her husband.  I had written about my struggle over the years with longing for my husband to speak my love language of gifts.  This past Mother's Day he actually did get a gift for me....from the barn and for the barn!  It was actually something I really loved.  He found a beautiful, antique barrel that was just the perfect size for a little side table.  He brought it in and placed it in the family room where I stumbled upon it later.  He also got me pigs, 4 of them! Well, not actually for me, per se.  They are ultimately for the freezer!  He also took me out for dinner the night before because the next morning he and the kids were on for worship at church.  He knew that there would be no time for a Mother's Day breakfast...He was thinking ahead!

So you see, he did get me gifts!  But I wrote, I'm a little more complicated then that.  I would have loved it if he had gotten me something a little more personal or feminine, not just pigs and barrels.  I had whole lists in my head of things I would have liked!  Poor guy, it must be so hard living with someone like me.

This is all going somewhere......

On the weekend, I had been shopping as well for gifts for others in my life.  When I came to the cashier, she told me to put my name in for a draw.  She told me I had really good odds of winning as only 3 people had put their names in so far for the Mother's Day gift basket.  Who knows what it was worth, but it looked like a pretty nice basket of products.  It didn't cost me, so I signed my name.

Then, I went home, Mother's Day happened, barrels and pigs, and, unfortunately, some of the old feelings crept in there about gifts.  I'm a sinner, what can I say.  My kids were sweet.  I got a very meaningful card, a beautiful strawberry/hanging plant and a couple of crafty things the younger girls had made.  Plus, we had the privilege of going to a wonderful brunch with family, so I definitely should not have struggled.  That was when I realized my selfish heart and how I was being so demanding....again.  So I surrendered my rights.  I thanked him for all the ways he showed love to me that day and every day.  He is so good to me, but sometimes I just get caught up in the way the world does things and my expectations become backwards.

After that, I felt so much better!  I was completely at peace, grateful for all I had.  I was able to see how God blesses me, with gifts, in other ways, all the time.....I wrote about my own learning curve with love languages and warned others of the danger of demanding your spouse speak in your "language".

Last night, I was checking messages on my phone.  There was one from a number I didn't recognize....the voice message said, "Congratulations!  Your name was chosen for the Mother's Day gift basket!"  I couldn't believe it.  I had completely forgotten about it.  I can't help but think it is God's way of reminding me His way of loving is better than my way.  When I am demanding and seeking love the way I want it, I do not get true love.  However, when I see that I am being loved in other ways, not my ways, then I am blessed even more.  So, today, I'll pick up this incredible GIFT basket (even the term 'gift' is ironic as I love gifts!!!) and I will count it as God's lesson in love to me. I hope I learn this lesson once and for all.