What to do when gift giving isn't your love language.
Gift giving. Probably one of my lowest scores on the Love Language test.Need an encouraging word? I've got at least seven: Go. You. Can. Do. It. And. Go.
Need some love'n and home-cooked hug'n? I"ll glue you into my open arms and give you hand squeezes that'll last longer than a Lifetime movie.
Need some help unloading groceries from your car? I'll get my husband to help you with that. I'll bear the weight of your Kroger organic burdens.
Need some you and I, me and you time? I'll stop the clock for your soul's nourishment and let you buy me coffee buy you coffee at any of the fiftygagillion coffee shops we have in Denton.
Need a gift so you can know love at it's deepest most precious level?
Find yourself another Stacie.
I'm working on it. Really. But I've discovered that there is something I can do even though I'm not the best giver. I can celebrate and say thank you to those who ARE great gift givers. Because their gifts have impacted my life and reminded me that I am loved. And they remind me of how great it feels to receive... and how great it can be to give.
Below are three pictures. Each a gift given to Brett and I within the past year.
The first, two gnome salt and pepper shakers. Our sweet friend Emily got us two cute little coffee cups for our wedding, and, so thoughtfully and intentionally, waited to buy us a "real" wedding present because she wanted to find the perfect gift for us. A few weeks ago we got a package that neither of us were expecting. We opened it, and found these two guys with their shovel and watering can, waiting to grace our table. Emily's heart is so loyal, so intentional, and so for others. I love her.
The second, a journal for our marriage. One of Brett's lovely and intentional girl friends, Taryn, gave us this journal for our wedding. This is what she wrote to us, "Allow this book to be both of yours. Write words to each other great and small. Write thoughts and feelings, and convictions- love deep and leave it for him or her to catch." I have loved watching this sacred vessel migrate from one room to another, from shelves to coffee tables, from bed stands to under pillows. We don't write in it often, but when we do, those words are so full of life and necessary. This will forever be a precious gift to us.
The third, a hilarious letter I received in the mail from my friend Trese, in response to my refusal to use our french press. This is not the first gift Trese has given me. A few years ago, she burned me a lot of CD's filled with Adventures in Odyssey stories (my absolute FAVE childhood memory) and a few great Mika songs. She came to our wedding even though she definitely wasn't living in Texas. And she always checks in on me every few months via Facebook, a gift of intentionality that I'm aweful at and I absolutely admire in her.
What gifts are you grateful for this week, and who in your own life do you need to recognize for giving so lovingly of themselves?