A Gift

Yesterday was one of those "ugh" days. It was rainy and messy, and we had kid issues and I had articles that just wouldn't write themselves. By the time the afternoon rolled around and the teenagers got home, I was ready for bed. About 5:30 p.m. someone rang the doorbell. A man was standing on the porch holding this octagonal stained glass window. I was not in the mood for buying anything so I tried to look pleasant when I opened the door. He introduced himself as Noel, and said that he lived in the neighborhood. I kept smiling, waiting for the sales pitch. Noel said he had driven by our house quite a bit (we live on a main drag) and had noticed our octagonal window in the front. I should mention that I never liked that octagonal window, and had thought several times lately that it needed a round stained glass in it. But just as I had decided that, I had also taken a vow of House Decor Poverty. In my efforts to curb the ugly monster of consumerism, I have looked around my house and decided that I have "enough." My walls are aren't blank, we have furniture to sit on and coverings over our windows and full bookshelves. So I decided not to pursue round stained glass. But then here was Noel standing on my front porch, and I was sure he was going to give me a sales pitch that I needed to buy this perfect octagonal stained glass he held in his hand. But that's not what he said. He told me he had purchased this stained glass in Branson, but recently one of his parishioners had given him a stained glass that he had hung in place of this one. "So I thought I would offer it to you." He said, smiling. I'm sorry to tell you what my response was:

"How much?" I asked.

He looked puzzled and held it out to me. "I don't want you to pay me for it. You can have it...if you want it." Honestly, I didn't know how to respond. I was waiting for the catch. But he just stood there holding out the stained glass to me and smiling. I took it.

Noel is the former rector at a local Episcopal church not far from our house. Now I don't know if rectors in Episcopalian churches regularly hear from God any more than pastors in Methodist churches. But whether he knows it or not, Reverend Noel listened to God. Every day we have choices to make. We can make the easy choice and put the stained glass in the Goodwill donation box, or the riskier choice of noticing that someone else might have a place for it, and show up at their doorstep out of the blue on a rainy Monday afternoon. If it were me, I think that piece of stained glass would probably be sitting in my Goodwill donation box. I didn't really NEED the stained glass, but I kind of needed a little boost - a gift to remind me that God is near, and loving us through the hearts and hands of other people. I don't have that many serendipitous occurrences in my life, at least not ones that I notice. But God gave me one yesterday and reminded me how something so simple can mean so much. God provides us with all that we need. "Don't fret", Jesus says in the gospel of Matthew, "God knows what you need and he'll provide it for you." That's my paraphrase. So God provided a little something yesterday: a little stained glass and gentle reminder to be a blessing for someone else...even if it's a tad risky.

Thank you Reverend Noel. I'm so grateful that you listened.