A Gift with a Story

It is always nice to receive a gift.  Gifts touch our emotions, making both giver and receiver happy, thankful, and fulfilled.  For children, receiving a gift is just plain exciting and fun. 

Gifts are tangible symbols that give evidence of our expressions of love, remembrances and celebrate our relationships with each other.  Birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries and other special times provide opportunities to give such symbols to each other. 

Sometimes, on rare occasions, we receive gifts that can trigger our deeper emotions.  And, as we grow older, it is sometimes the story behind a gift that amplifies its meaning and seals the gift to our heart….forever. 

Such was the case on a Christmas-Birthday a few years ago when Becky received a gift from my aunt Earle Stair.  Becky’s birthday is December 27^th and this gift was unexpected, very special, and was forever sealed in our hearts by its story.

Over the years, as we’d visited with aunt Earle and uncle John, Becky had noticed a set of silverware that Earle used from time to time.  To me, a fork is a fork and a spoon is a spoon, but not so with Becky.  Becky thought the silverware was pretty, interesting looking and had asked Earle about when, where and how she had acquired it. 

You can imagine how surprised Becky was that December birthday when Earle gave her that particular silverware of eight place settings and five serving pieces.  But as Paul Harvey used to say,"This gift is really a special one, but only if you know the “Rest of the Story.”

Aunt Earle and uncle John were married on December 24, 1941 and in those days folks didn’t give many bridal showers; wedding gifts tended to be kitchen ware, towels, washcloths and sheets.  Earle didn’t have the privilege of picking out fine china and silver. These were the days of World War II and times were lean for most folks.  Earl’s “fine silver” came from the local  5 & 10 variety store.  Back then we called them “dime stores.” 

By 1945, John and Earle were living in Middle Valley, near present day Chattanooga.  John had felt called to the ministry and Earle felt that she should have good china and silverware since a minister’s wife would be having guest into the home for meals and other occasions.  However, with money tight, she couldn’t afford to just go and buy the silver she would like to have. 

At the time, there was a radio program on the air that was called “Heart’s Desire.”  Earle listened to it each day as she ironed clothes and did housekeeping chores.  The program was built around the idea that listeners would send in post cards to the radio show telling of their “heart’s desire.”  Each day, the master of ceremonies would draw three cards from the thousands sent in.  If your card was read on the air, you received “your heart’s desire.”  Of course you know what Earle did.  Yep, she sent in several cards telling of her desire as a young minister’s wife to have some lovely silverware to grace her dining table.  As you might guess, none of Earle’s cards were ever drawn.

At some point, Earle told her mother, Zena Johnson, about what she had done; sending the cards into the radio show in hopes that they’d be drawn.  I don’t know that Zena made any comments at the time Earle related the story, but some months later she visited Earle and John and presented them with an eight place setting of silver, accompanied with these words, “Honey, most things in life that you get, you have to work for.”

On that day, Earle got her “heart’s desire,” not from a chance drawing, but from a mother who loved her and wanted to give an unexpected gift as a symbol of that love.

So you see, Becky’s birthday gift that December was far more than the physical value of the gift itself.  The gift she received, was really the story……the story of a young preacher’s wife and her desire for better things; the story of a mother’s love; and the story of an unexpected gift shared with another generation.

 

As I write this BLOG, aunt Earle is approaching her 92nd birthday.  Aging has stolen a lot of life's joy and much of her vibrant memory and stimulating conversational skills have disappeared.  But the legacy of her unexpected gift still resides with Becky; sealed in her heart and waiting to be shared with the next generation.