Sunday, January 22, 2006

My Favorite Birthday Present...

Well yep it's official another birthday come and gone...and it was a GOOD one. Another years worth of lessons that God was faithful to teach me. I pray I have bent my heart toward being a good learner. It's been a year where I've gotten to come to Honduras and love on kiddo's and live out a purpose far bigger than myself and that's been a neat thing. Not easy at every moment by far but nothing worth doing ever is. It's been a good year and I'm grateful!

My birthday was Thursday and it was super special even though I was miles and miles away from home this year. Some of my favoritest people from home had arranged for me to get a massage here, and that was WAY nice and then we went to lunch at this really nice restaurant called El Corral. Karen and I went after that to get a manicure and a pedicure. Met our friend Fabiola for chai tea at the little coffee shop that we love and sat on the patio and talked for a long time with her. Came home and Melissa brought me cheesecake (which I LOVE.) Friday night we went to the neat little Chinese restaurant where some other folks showed up to surprise me, thanks to the Kluge's. Today we went to the lawyer's house for a Honduran BBQ. It was so much fun, we got to eat all sorts of Honduran cuisine and let me just tell you I learned that I LOVE corn tomalitos. I will be learning how to make those somehow.

It's been a good weekend. So many neat things that people did to make me feel special and loved and I appreciated every single one of them.

My favorite gift this year came from one of my Honduran friends however. You all have heard me talk about Marta. She is the mother of the two boys you see on here often, Dennis and Christian. Anyway we were at Santa Ana yesterday working and Marta came in carrying this plastic Kroger bag. Inside was used wrapping paper from somewhere a piece of string tying it around this little vase with artifical flowers that she had made for me. On the outside of the vase in crayon she had written "Feliz Compleanos para Jenifer de Marta." Some of the words were spelled wrong, it was written in green crayon on a pink vase. The flowers were artificial and you might look at it and think ok well that's not too special there Jen. I will however treasure it as if it were gold. When I opened it with HUGE tears in my eyes, I thought what makes someone who has absolutely nothing come to offer you a gift. I was as humbled as I've been in a while.

Not always the gifts that cost the most or are the biggest and best that tug your heartstrings or touch you the most. This year it was this simple little vase of flowers that touched my heart as much as any gift ever has. It came straight from the heart and was offered because of that and it was a beautiful thing.

Thanks God for humbling me over and over and over again by the generosity of these people who have nothing to their name and yet give without a thought of keeping it for themselves. It's a Jesus kind of giving that I certainly can take some lessons from.

1 comment:

Terry Reeves said...

I love reading your blogs, I can actually HEAR you talking as you tell each story (especially the one about the finger prints!). I am sure you are having the time of your life and I am thankful the daily time you spend to share it will all of us back home (wishing we were there doing what you are doing). Can't wait to see you in March during my scouting trip. Keep up the good work and our prayers are with you. Continue to be the clay that the Master will use to mold at His good pleasure.

TR