One of my love languages is gifts. I love to give people things that they will see as special and meaningful as a way to show my love and appreciation. The value of the gift is meaningless; it is the thought behind it and in my mind the joy and/happiness it will bring.
While we were gathering to leave the Kigali Genocide Memorial, one of the women was showing Alfrancine (our guide/interpreter) and I a collection of stackable baskets she had purchased. Alfrancine’s eyes lit up. I asked if that was something she would like. She smiled and said “yes”.
Saturday, while we were at a market, I found the baskets. I found Alfrancine and asked her if she had a color preference and she asked for the colors of Rwanda (blue and green). I presented her with the baskets and she gave me a big hug and smile.
Later that morning, Alfrancine found me and gave me a bag. Inside was a carved gorilla. She shared since we had not seen the gorillas that Rwanda is known for that she wanted me to have one.
I was speechless and started to cry. Inside I was thinking, this woman is not one of means and for her to buy me a gift was a true sacrifice. As I was relating this to Cyrus and how I felt so bad that she got me a gift in response to my gift, he shared that in Africa, when you give a gift, you give not only the gift, but you give a piece of your heart. He shared that she wanted to demonstrate that she was giving me a piece of her heart in return.
Speechless. I began to reflect on how many times do we in America give a gift without thinking about it, without really caring about what we give. Giving not from our heart but out of obligation.
For those who have been to my home, gorillas don’t fit into my décor but you can bet the gorilla is displayed and will continued to be displayed with prominence. It is a constant reminder to me that it is not the gift that counts but condition of the heart when the gift is given.
Giving gifts is something we should do with joy. It may mean we have to shift our paradigm on gift giving. What if we were intentional about what we gave? Regardless of its monetary value, seeing each gift not just something physical but in giving it we gave a piece of ourselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment