Luke 6:38

December 25, 2018

I’m always playing catch-up. After three attempts, I finally was able to procure that special Christmas gift for Linda that had eluded me for so long. Her entry room bench now sits firmly ensconced in that 20 inches just inside our bedroom door. Linda is easy to please (after all, she settled for me), but it feels good to have found that one special gift that she loves.

I, on the other hand, am a bit harder to buy for. There’s not much these days that catches my eye, and almost nothing I need. Last fall for example, when we had stopped at Ron’s, our antique store friend, and saw a cider press, I got excited. For years I’ve wanted to be able to press cider, but finding a working press is next to impossible unless one owns a golden goose. Linda asked Ron about it, but was told that it had been sold. She later told me that she had hoped to get it as a Christmas gift, and was disappointed at being unable to do so. That was the last of it. 

One day as we were driving somewhere, I casually mentioned to Linda that one thing I’d really like for Christmas was some time in a studio to professionally produce a recording of some of the songs I’ve written. Since I don’t actually write music, the melodies are only in my head, and I’ve wanted for years to be able to preserve them for the family. 

Imagine my delight when last night the kids presented me with a gift certificate for time in a local studio, and then this morning when that cider press showed up in our entry room! Neither gift had I even remotely expected. The kids all chipped in for the studio, and daughter Jess researched different ones in the area, choosing one that has been used by some top name groups. Apparently the fellow who had bought the cider press never actually put down the cash, so Ron called Linda and told her it was available. 

So as I said, I’m always playing catch up. No matter how much I try to be on the giving side, it keeps coming back, as Scripture says, “pressed down, shaken together, and running over.” Even in the giving, I have received more than I gave. Whatever dollar amount lay scattered across the room, it was paltry in comparison with the pleasure of seeing the smiles and hearing the squeals of delight. Generosity is in some ways, a pretty selfish thing. You give, and even more comes back. Not necessarily in dollars and cents, but in love and satisfaction.

This morning as I looked around the living room filled with our kids and grandkids feverishly opening their gifts, I felt an almost overwhelming sense of gratitude for being able to give generously, blessing those we love. It was like waves of satisfaction undulating over me as I surveyed the chaos before me. I wonder if God feels the same way when we receive his generosity with gratitude? I can almost see him scanning the world with that same joy that I felt as he sees his children enjoying his generosity, delighted to be able to pour out his blessings upon them. I hope that what he has poured into me will come back to him “pressed down, shaken together, and running over.”