UNEXPECTED GIFTS . . .

Back in the day, we might receive a "no-reason present."

No reason, no occasion. Just because.

Recently I received one of the most valuable gifts anyone could give me--the gift of time. The soloist I sometimes accompany at church was undecided about the song he would sing for the Lessons and Carols service after Christmas. He'd given me a copy of a song he liked a lot; it was one I didn't know, and when I listened to it on YouTube, I wasn't excited about it. He also said he might sing "Away in a Manger" using one of the alternate tunes.

The next time I saw him at church, he was playing the keyboard and singing softly. "I've decided," he said. "I'll do 'Away in a Manger' and I'll accompany myself. That way I can use the soft strings or maybe some other setting."

He'd given me at least an hour that I wouldn't have had; we would have rehearsed a couple of times, and I'd have played it for him during the service.


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The day before Thanksgiving, one of my neighbors came over with a  loaf of Italian bread in her arms. "We want to share our Thanksgiving meal with you," she said. I thanked her and told her I'd be going to my daughter's house in Ohio on Friday for our holiday dinner.

As it happened, when I packed up everything to take to Ohio, I forgot the bread (it was in the freezer, out of sight). So a couple of days later, I took it to my friend Jane who'd recently had surgery, along with a can of Butternut Squash Soup that she loves and her husband won't touch. It was an unusual get-well gift, and one I know was appreciated.

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Last winter two of my neighbors came over and used their snow blowers to clean off my driveway. If I hadn't seen them out there, I wouldn't have known who did it. Their thoughtfulness made it easier for me to get out for my errands.

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Last month the guys were here to install new entry doors for me. One morning we had a power outage that lasted an hour and a half. Later one of the guys asked me if I'd tried the garage door that comes into the house--it has stuck for years, mostly in humid weather. So I tried it and it worked perfectly. "I was bored for a while, so I sanded the bottom of the door." He must have done that by hand while the power was off.

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A few months ago my sewing group, Heart & Hands, decided to ask church members for donations of fabric or if they didn't have that kind of thing, then funds for purchase of fabric would be appreciated.

Before I got the request written up for the newsletter, one of the women who sometimes sews for us brought in a big tote--a BIG tote--full of flannel from when she made blankets and other baby items for her new grandchildren. She was out of the baby business, she said, so she wanted us to have what she had left. I counted 16-20 yards of fabric, several different designs, all usable for our NICU blankets.

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Unexpected? Absolutely!

Not every gift comes with an occasion attached. What the unexpected gift brings is a connection to another person, or group.

My neighborhood isn't chummy. Most of us have jobs, or families, or plenty of projects that keep us occupied. Some of us know each other to speak to, or wave to when we're out in the yard. Then those unexpected gifts remind us that we're not separate--we're all in this together--and even if nothing is said, there is a sense of belonging.

What unexpected gifts can we give? Compassion . . . listening . . . offers of help . . . prayers . . . a note of encouragement . . . a phone call or email . . . . And, once you start thinking of someone who might like an unexpected gift, you'll be making connections.