. . . so be willing to do some receiving!
[The original picture for this post was of yet another cross-stitch kit in my possession.] I’ve said that I have enough cross-stitching to last me till the nursing home, but my sister-in-law and I went to a needlework shop yesterday and I just fell in love with this one. “Oh, I don’t need to get this,” I said, and left it on the rack. But when I looked again, it was gone–and in my s-in-l’s hands. “Let me get this for you,” she said. “You spoil us rotten when we visit. I’d love to give it to you.” I hesitated. The tendency is always to demur when someone wants to do something for you. But then I remembered how pleased people are to give a gift. “Okay.” Her face lit up. Am I pleased with this item? Indeed I am. But you know who was even more pleased? She was.
Later I was asking Carol if it was okay for me to tell this story on my blog, and not only did she say that it was, she also told a similar story about herself. She was 14 and possessed of very little self-esteem, as she puts it. Her aunt wanted to buy her a Minnesota t-shirt with a funny slogan. Carol kept refusing, until her aunt said, “A gift can please the giver as much as it does the receiver.” How true! Carol accepted the gift (and still has the t-shirt). So I hope that yesterday as you opened your presents that you didn’t utter the fatal words, “Oh, you shouldn’t have!” and instead just said “thank you.” If you did say those words or have that attitude, resolve that you will STOP IT RIGHT NOW. As the author of The Surrendered Wife says, your motto should be, “Receive, receive, receive.”