Gifts of the heart

I remember the Christmas when my 2 year old daughter gave me a present.  It was a white sheet of paper with four crayon lines  !! !! I couldn't imagine what it was so I had the presence of mind to ask her to "tell me about your present".  She was so excited when she told me it was a picture of me.  After I looked at it I realized what it was.  She was obviously short and from her vantage point, I was eye level for her at my legs.  She had drawn two legs!  I laughed and hugged her and thanked her for my portrait.  It was the best portrait I have ever had since it was drawn with love. It is fun to look at the world through the eyes of another.  Sometimes gifts of the heart are unusual or strange at first. If we take the time to look at the thought behind the gift, we can see the love there.  So much of life is not in the usual, orchestrated, planned, scripted occurrences, but instead in the spontaneous and unexpected gifts of the self.  Accepting the unusual gift may be a little difficult as it is unexpected, but if we can live in the moment and look into the eyes of the giver, we can see and feel the love which is the best gift of all.  I hope that you have many gifts of the heart this year.  They can't be bought, only felt!