~ Heart Gifts ~

 Growing up, I had a wall hanging with Helen Steiner Rice's poem, Heart Gifts, printed on it. I kept it on my bedroom wall as a special reminder to be the kind of giver God wants me to be. I'm not sure where it's at now. Probably packed away in a box. But my hubby gave me a "Heart Gifts" book one year. I wanted to share with you the poem that not only ministered to me growing up, but helped mold me into the person I am today.

Heart Gifts

It's not the things that can be bought

that are life's richest treasure,

It's just the little "heart gifts"

that money cannot measure.

A cheerful smile, a friendly word, 

a sympathetic nod

Are priceless little treasures

from the storehouse of our God.

They are the things that can't be bought

with silver or with gold,

For thoughtfulness and kindness

and love are never sold.

They are the priceless things in life

for which no one can pay,

And the giver finds rich recompense

in giving them away.

~ Helen Steiner Rice ~

For those who have loved ones with Lyme disease, heart gifts are the best gifts you can give them. "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones." (Book of Psalms) Heart gifts are a great way to let us know that we are loved, we are precious, we are not a burden, we are worth living and sacrificing for. 

For those with Lyme disease, we need to remember in our pain that no matter how hard it may be to smile, we need to not get so wrapped up in our disease and how we're feeling or how we're not feeling that we forget to give our heart gifts away to those we love. I need this reminder more than anyone. I've been so discouraged lately that I've forgotten the affect my moods and attitudes have on my husband and children. For me, I'm still searching to find my way through this illness, but I'm learning that it's not going away anytime soon and I need to stop waiting for tomorrow to come in order to enjoy life. I need to learn how to enjoy life in the here and now. 

That's my current struggle. How about you?