Two Coffee Mugs and a Jalapeno

Two Coffee Mugs and a Jalapeno

12/17/11

In an age where the art of giving elaborate gifts has become secondhand the heart of a child continues to bring the most profound gifts that bring an everlasting memory to our heart.  It is refreshing to receive a gift from your child in a way which represents their thinking and heart more than any other gift imagined.  It is these gifts that you hang on your walls or place on your shelves that bring back memories that no one can ever take away.

This year I celebrated my 44^th birthday.  Yes, my mother’s baby is 44.  As we get older in life and these special days become less meaningful to us due to our busy lifestyles, we still need to make sure we remember what life is about and how special this day really is to our family.  Even though it is your birthday, always remember that a woman somewhere in the world was going through a level of pain that would define your existence for your entire lifetime, a pain that is unbearable at times for her but will bring a joy that is not comparable to anything else known to humans.

We receive various Happy Birthday messages from our friends and with modern technology from we can now receive these notes from people that we do not even know on a personal level.  We hear all of the funny suggestive “getting older” jokes and other humorous statements and we laugh each and every one of them because in the back of our minds we know that in short time frame we can get our revenge on these people when their special day rolls around.  These events come and go and then fade away as the next morning or week arrives.  Nothing against our friends that perform these duties, but most of those events are placed at the back of our mind’s hierarchy.

Our busy days and nights continue to pass bye and these birthday thoughts eventually wane away into the proverbial sunset and we think to ourselves that this was just another day in our lives and that tomorrow will ring once again with the same mundane patterns.  However, there comes a time where a child or young person comes along that makes this day special in our lives that will break this pattern and give us a new insight to what this day actually means.  This event from a child does not have to be on your birthday but it may occur on an ordinary day when we least expect it.

When we lived in Cleveland, Texas the church that my father pastured included a private school.  I attended this school for approximately three years and enjoyed my tenure there.  With dad being the administrator of the school I saw him on a continual basis and would occasionally speak to him in the halls or in the cafeteria.  Most days after school I would be picked up by mom or driven home by dad where my day would normally continue.  Knowing that my dad was constantly busy I would, for the most part, leave him alone and let him continue his work for I knew that I would soon see him at the house.

My dad has always liked spicy foods, from as far back as I can remember his taste for Mexican food, spices, hot sauce, peppers, etc, and etc. has been in our home.  He introduced me to this delicacy when I was young and that taste too has spilled over into my bloodstream.  I cannot remember the exact situation but I remember I found out that dad loved jalapenos which were cut long ways and had cream cheese placed into the middle of them then served on a plate as a snack.

I obtained some of these jalapenos, like I said I do not remember how, and I cut them and them filled them with cream cheese and put them on a paper plate.  I walked to dad’s office and knocked on the door.  He did not answer so I opened the door slowly and peeked around and verified that he was not in the room.  I then walked over to his desk and set the plate down close to the center and began to look for a piece of paper to write a note.  I then reached into my pocket and pulled out some change.  I counted it and knew I was short on the amount but I was going to leave the coins anyway.

I tore off a portion of the paper I had found and wrote a simple short note, which basically said that I had brought this plate for him and that I had some change for you to buy a coke.  The funny part of the note was that the amount of change I left was not enough to actually buy a coke and that he could supply the remaining amount needed.  I had no idea of what impact that note would have on my dad.  That note and the memory that comes along with it are framed on his office wall to this day.  Almost every time I walk into his office I see that note and I am reminded of that day way back in my youth.

For my birthday this year, my youngest brought me this same type of special gift.  Rebekkah has an artistic mind that is exciting to watch function.  You know the phrase that we use often…”you can see the wheels turning” well in her case you can see them turning many times.  It is neat to see a child going through the thought process of trying to find a gift for someone but not telling you who or what they are looking for when you ask them if they need any help.  Rebekkah is a classic example of this situation.

When we arrived at the house from the shopping trip we unloaded the car as normal.  I was carrying in the bags and I noticed Rebekkah was already going through them looking for something.  I went back outside and finished carrying the bags when she met me at the door and began taking bags from my hand.  I knew that I had the bag she was looking for and quietly let her take it from my hand.  She ran upstairs and then shortly came back down acting like nothing ever happened, which if you know Rebekkah…that is hard for her to doJ

On my birthday Rebekkah presented me with this beautifully wrapped box.  She promptly said Happy Birthday and was literally dancing with excitement while I was opening it.  Inside I found two coffee mugs.  One coffee mug was of Bugs Bunny and the other mug was of Tweety Bird.  I looked at them and almost began to cry.  This gift touched my life so much and in a way that she had no idea of what and why.  I hugged her and said thank you so much and then continued to look at them for a bit longer.  Rebekkah went along her way and as soon as she left the room, the title of this message was placed into my mind.

A small simple gift from my daughter brought the day to its highlight that November afternoon.  Yes, all of my other gifts, messages, and notes from my friends and colleagues were wonderful and I will accept them as graciously as I can again next year.  Yes, all of the gifs and wishes from my family were just what I wanted and needed and I appreciate them each and every day, both the gifts and my family!  But this small gift had its own special meaning to me this year.

It is his act of purity that will stay within my heart and mind until the day I leave this physical body.  No matter what people try and do to me or say about me, this act of innocence will continue to burn within my heart and fuel my desire to write about the things that occur in a person’s life that can change our surroundings.  Is this a God thing?  You bet it is!!  It still confuses the most prestigious scholars of how a child’s action can strike to the core of an adult’s life and this act by a child can only be explained by a living God in our lives.

It is these events that we as adults need to remember and share with others so that they can understand the meaning of gift giving.  A gift from a child may not always be a physical item but it may be a hug or a placed in a question or even in a message.  It does not have to be around a holiday or on your birthday, but to that child it will be just a random and normal moment but to the adult it will be an everlasting and life changing event that will never be forgotten.  Enjoy them, for our children will grow up and those innocent moments that only they can bring will be gone.  But also remind them that their children and others like them will one day pierce their heart with a simple act and when this act occurs embrace it as your heart did.

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that sums up this message.  It is entitled “Cinderella” and every time I hear this song I am not ashamed to say it literally brings tears to my eyes.  Not because the fact that the girl in the song grows up and leaves the house but because it is those moments for that touches the dad’s heart and writes his signature on the daughter’s heart that they both will never forget.

A child always can bring an adult to their knees in an instant.  The simple things they say or the innocent looks in their eyes speak so much to us that many times those are the moments that are burned into us that last a lifetime.  Those thoughts are the ones that bring us the most happiness when our lives are troubled or in a mess.  Those acts are the ones that restore our faith in humanity and allow us to re-assure ourselves that there is still good in the world.  These acts of a child or person who gives from the heart should be exalted to the public and told about for centuries beyond.  This purity of thought cannot be measured in a sense that we can know.  When this event occurs in your life, and at some time it will, cherish that moment and when things go wrong reflect on it and life will once again have meaning to you.