The Gift Of God’s Presence

Recently I spent a weekend with my sister and her family. My four-year-old niece was particularly anticipating my arrival. She had prepared my room and bed, complete with her favourite strawberry pillow, and when I arrived at the station, she firmly took my hand and told me, ‘you are coming in my car and you are coming to my house’. On my arrival and throughout the weekend, she constantly showered gifts on me, which mostly consisted of painted wood and sparkles. It was not until I left that I began to reflect that the way little Beth showered gifts on me reflected the ultimate gift giver – God!

Beth’s desire to give me things seemed to be constant, and it is definitely true that God longs for us to receive the many gifts he bestows on us as well. They are not always physical things we can hold in our hands like a sparkly piece of wood, but they are nonetheless tangible – a glorious sunrise, a heartwarming conversation with a friend, a poignant moment in prayer.

When Beth gave me the sparkly wood pictured above, she said ‘this one can be a train or a car. I don’t mind’. It was as if she assumed I would play with it – what an invitation to be childlike, something which God invites us to as well. He calls us to be dependent on him for all we need, open to his wisdom and seeking his help just like a child with their parent.

And what’s more, maybe when God gives us gifts, he also says, ‘I don’t mind how you use it’. If he gives us a gift of compassion for others, perhaps he says, ‘I don’t mind how you use it because there are many people needing to experience my compassion and there are many ways to express it’, or if he gives us a gift of boldness in preaching, perhaps he also says ‘I don’t mind how you use it because there are many people to share the gift of my love with’.

Perhaps though, the biggest gift that this sparkly piece of wood offered me was a reminder that God wants to use the simple and unexpected things in my life to remind me of is presence, his love and his desire to draw me closer to himself.

Mel Edwards