After a childhood bout of rheumatic fever, my mother did not expect to survive into her teens, much less marry and have children. 

But she lived well into her sixties and welcomed 21 grandchildren into the family. As the youngest of six children, I watched my mother make tiny baby clothes each time one of her daughters or daughters-in-law announced an impending birth.

Six years after my mother’s death, my oldest sister visited. She gave us a present to celebrate the long-awaited news of our impending parenthood. 

Smiling, she said the gift was from my mother. Startled, we opened the gift from someone who no longer lived on earth, but who loved us and our unborn daughter. Mum had lovingly fashioned new baby clothes and left them with my sister to give to us at the right time.

Mum’s gift reminded me that Jesus offers each of us the gift of forgiveness and eternal life—even many centuries after his death. No gift can be redeemed until it is accepted. 

Let our acts of giving, whether of time or talent, be a strong reminder of the gift given to us by someone who died many years ago.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for giving us so much when we have done nothing to deserve it. Amen