We were at a party yesterday afternoon & one of the teenage girls who I have known from her birth came up to me & gave me half of a leaf, the same leaf as the one in the photo. She said to me that I have to keep it as it is a gift from her & I without hesitation slotted it in my phone case which is clear.
Today, I sat here looking at it & something dropped into my heart.
This little leaf was the only thing she had on her at that very point in time to share with me.. this is like a gift that may be the only thing we have available at a specific moment to give God or to give to a person we love or cherish or respect or honour. It may not look like something of value & definitely does not have monetary value. It is drying out in parts & brown & there is little to almost no life in it, but no matter the look of the gift, it is the heart behind it that truly matters.
Then I thought of the heart of the young girl giving it to me.. she did so just because at that moment, she wanted to give me something, it’s that simple. She may not have thought any further about it or had any other intentions behind it, I am not sure. Maybe she was trying to determine if I would keep it to toss it away amongst the other leaves on the ground.
Then I stopped & thought back about my heart when I received it. I joyfully & gladly took it, said thanks, promised her to keep it & proceeded to do so. I did that not because there was a physical or monetary value to it, but I valued that gift & any gift for that matter because SHE was valuable to me, because our relationship had value, because she was someone who I had watched grow up, invested into, encouraged, supported, cheered on & loved.
I felt like I captured a glimpse of what God’s heart is like when we give Him what we have at a moment we feel like giving, whether it is praise, a moment, a word, money, time, prayer, or anything at all.. It has today reminded me not to overthink when giving God what I have in my hand & my heart because to me, it may look silly but give it with a child-like spirit, with joy knowing that it is not about the item or the gift but the heart.
moderndaychick 