Wednesday night
I was rounding up the children to head home from church when 6-year-old Olivia
caught my eye. Her face brightened, and she hopped up from the pew where she
was sitting to hurry toward me.
“I made this for you,” she announced proudly, a
twinkle in her eye as she extended her hand to reveal a bulging manila envelope.
“For me?” I
asked with surprise as she placed the envelope in my hands. Olivia came to our
house for Emma’s fourth birthday party, but that was three years ago. I speak
to Olivia when I see her at church, but I don’t recall teaching her Bible class
or having extended interaction with her since the party.
She nodded
emphatically, blond curls bouncing as her lips curved into a little smile.
I turned the envelope
over to read the inscription. In her neatest little-girl handwriting, Olivia
had printed “Mom Dad Kids” across the back of the envelope.
I could tell
from the look of pride on her face that this envelope held something of great
value – perhaps some of her best work to date. “Are you sure you don’t want to
give this to your parents?” I asked, uncertain that I was really the intended
recipient of such a special gift.
“Yes,” she
insisted. “It’s for you.”
I opened the
envelope slowly, careful not to spill its contents. Inside I found several
sketches drawn on notebook paper and folded kindergarten-origami style into interesting
shapes. I admired the pictures, then pulled out the real masterpiece: a book
fashioned from folded note cards, fastened with a row of staples to create a
neat little spine. I flipped through the book, admiring Olivia’s colorful illustrations
and noting how much work she had put into this project. Captions below the drawings
shared some of Olivia’s favorite things like “grape’s,” “choklit” and “the oshin.”
When Olivia
assured me once more that she really wanted to share these special treasures
with me, I said thank you and gave her a big hug before we said goodnight.
The next morning,
I was still thinking about Olivia’s gift. I marveled that she chose to give it
to me, smiling as I remembered the look of joy on her face as I opened it. But
then I realized with a start that I didn’t know where I had put it. In the
flurry of getting home from church and ushering the children into the house and
to bed, I wasn’t sure if I had brought the envelope inside or left it in the
car.
I rushed to the
kitchen counter, but couldn’t find the envelope with our other church papers. I
headed outside and discovered Olivia’s treasure in the van. Somehow the
envelope had slipped between the console and passenger seat on the way home,
and I found it on the floor peeking out from beneath the seat.
As I picked up
the envelope, I thought of the other treasures shared with me at church the
night before. Those treasures weren’t presented in manila envelopes, but they
were gifts from the heart just the same. Several treasures were shared in our
ladies Bible class – frantic news from a daughter keeping vigil at the bedside
of her father in a nearby hospital; tearful revelations from a mother concerned
for the future of her child; concerns from a woman living too far away to assist a
friend in a legal crisis.
“Please pray,”
she asked softly, a tear in her eye as she extended herself to reveal a
bulging heart.
As I clutched
little Olivia’s manila envelope to my chest, I considered how easy it is to
collect treasures at church – prayer requests from friends who are facing
sickness, uncertainty and angst – but let them slip from our minds on the ride
home.
In 2
Corinthians 1, Paul told his fellow Christians about the hardships suffered in
Asia and confessed in verse 8 that he and his comrades were “so utterly
burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.” Paul urged his
brethren to pray, insisting, “You also must help us by prayer, so that many
will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers
of many” (verse 11).
Romans 12:12
urges us to “be constant in prayer.” As well as being continual in prayer, we
must also be steadfast. When a friend reaches out to share the concerns of her
heart, we need to prove ourselves faithful in carrying that treasure to the
throne of God.
Olivia’s little
book of favorite things now sits among my most-used references in a special
spot on my bookshelf – a reminder that gifts of the heart are treasures to be
handled with care.
"When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart." ~ John Bunyan
