The Best Gift
When mom and dad were visiting us last month, they met and quickly fell in love with, Naomi, who works for us, and her two children. Recently, my parents sent us some Christmas packages, overflowing with goodies! Naturally, one of the packages contained some gifts for Naomi’s family. My mom had bought an adorable little doll for Eman, Naomi’s five year-old daughter. Though my parents had sent these gifts with the purest of intentions, it presented us with a dilemma.
While holding this brand-new doll, I remembered my visits with Naomi in her tiny mud home. Among the few belongings they had, Eman held tightly her tattered homemade doll that her daddy had bought her with what little money he had. She loved that doll; it was the only one she had. She had made several little outfits for it with scraps of rags. So what would happen if we gave her this new beautiful doll? How would her father feel when his treasured gift had been replaced with something that his meager wages could not afford to buy?
So we came up with a better idea. With my mom’s permission, Matt and I unwrapped the gifts they had sent. We then told Naomi that we had some new toys that she could buy from us for 25 Gourdes each (less than $1US) for her kids, if she so desired. Nowhere else could she find such nice gifts at such a great price. But the decision was now hers. She could choose all, some or none. But best of all, she could buy them with her own hard-earned money, and she could give them to her kids. I wish my parents could have been here to see the joy on her face as she studied each gift, carefully considering which she would buy. She chose three of the five, and among them of course, was the new doll.
As for my mom and dad, they were more than happy to give anonymously, knowing that they were giving Naomi the best gift of all… the joy of giving.