The Gift

One sunshiny morning, shortly after Christmas, the father silently entered the room of his daughter. He found her lying tummy-down on her bed, reading one of her favorite books--a book he himself had written and given her. Intent on reading, she did not hear her father or see him as he tenderly gazed down at the little girl he loved so well.

Quietly, so as not to disturb her, he knelt at her bedside and studied her face, waiting for her to notice him.

The young girl looked up suddenly as she felt the presence of someone in her room. Her eyes met his and love reflected there.

“Good morning, Father!” she smiled brilliantly. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Good morning, my precious girl!” was his reply. “I have something for you.” He smiled knowingly. “It’s something you’ve longed to have for a very long time.” His eyes sparkled with the anticipation of giving this treasure to his daughter.

“Really?” cried the girl with excitement and sudden interest.

Gently, the father lifted a beautifully wrapped gift onto the bed and watched his daughter’s eyes open wide with wonder.

“How beautiful!” she sighed. “Is it truly what I have always dreamed of?” she asked in a soft whisper.

The father, knowing the secret desires and intense longings of his daughter’s heart, replied in a voice filled with emotion, “Yes…yes, it is.”

For several seconds all was quiet in the room. The father watched his little girl as she gazed at the gift in amazement, hardly able to comprehend that this was for her.

She briefly turned to her father. “Can I open it?” she asked eagerly as she fixed her eyes on the gift and began reaching for it.

“No!” came the sudden and shocking answer. “Not yet.”

The girl turned to look at her father, questions filling her eyes. No? Why would he give her a gift and then tell her she could not open it? Confused tears began to form in her eyes as she searched her father’s face for some explanation.

Tenderly, as if to ease the pain of the things he must say, the father took the small hand of his daughter and pressed it in both of his. His eyes were serious, his words earnest.

“For many years I have been secretly fashioning this gift. I have kept it for you until this time. I want you to have it. It is yours. But you must not open it until I tell you to do so. Something beautiful is being molded inside this box. But it is not ready yet. It is not complete. If you open this gift before the time that I give you permission, it will be spoiled…ruined. You must wait. You must trust me…and wait.”

Again, there was silence, as father and daughter studied each other. And then, as the girl thought about the precious gift given to her, her disappointment was temporarily forgotten. The glad light returned to her eyes, and her face beamed once again. She had waited so long for this gift. Surely she could wait a little bit longer. She would trust her father and wait as he had said.

Weeks passed. No one knew of the special gift the father had given his daughter. It must remain a secret for a time, concealed and hidden, for it was far too precious for words. But often, as the girl went about her daily business, a peaceful smile would play on her lips as she thought of the gift--the treasure that was hers and hers alone.

And then there were a few occasions when doubts would creep into her mind. Perhaps she had just imagined that wonderful morning when her father came to her bedside offering his gift. Was it a dream? In childlike dependence the girl would quietly approached her father, seeking his loving assurance. “Father,” she would ask with arms wrapped around his neck in a hug, “did I only imagine it…?” At these times the father would gently take her hand and lead her into his secret chambers. There he would show her little bits of evidence of her gift and reassure her that it was hers, but she must let him continue his fashioning work. She must be patient. She must wait and trust the loving heart of her father.

And wait she did! She waited very patiently for weeks...weeks that often felt like years as the longing for her gift increased with each new day. Time passed and her father said nothing of the gift or its completion. The girl grew impatient and frustrated--frustrated with the gift for taking so long to be ready, frustrated with her father for taking his time as he worked, and even frustrated with herself. She began to silently question the timing of her father. Sometimes she felt angry with him for showing her such a wonderful thing when it was not finished and then withholding it until the time he felt would be proper to give it to her. And then, as though he knew her very thoughts, she could hear his kind voice. “I showed you because I knew I could trust you to trust me. It was time for you to know what I plan to give you, but not time for me to entrust it wholly into your care.”

Oh, for just a glimpse of his astounding workmanship!!! “Father, why must I wait so very long?” she would cry. “Because, I am not finished yet, dear daughter!” would always be her father’s calm reply. He felt no need to rush. He worked steadily, at his own pace, in his own time.

She must wait. It seemed that more and more often the admonishments she read in her father’s little book were to rest in the knowledge that the gift he had presented was hers indeed, and she must simply leave the mysterious unknown to him. He would work out the details. One day in the future the gift would be perfectly fashioned by the father, and he would present the precious gift to his daughter. This time she could open it. And she would find that it was worth the wait to obtain such a treasure!

What is your gift? Are you willing to wait?

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I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
Psalm 27:13-14

Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
Psalm 37:3-9

They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31