Giving

the REST of the week #186

It’s the rest of the week—how about we intentionally let go of our disclaimer lists as we enter this season of giving?

Photo by Swiss Educational College on Unsplash

Giving provides a powerful invitation to rest—especially for those of us with a self-concious streak, those of us who might feel indebted to the whole world, those of us giving in unfamiliar contexts, or those of us who are drawn to discomforts of perfectionism like moths to the zapping lightbulb.

Have you experienced the “unrest” of presenting a gift that didn’t turn out exactly as you’d hoped:

The cookies burned.

You didn’t have ground cumin for the soup and didn’t have a grinder, so the otherwise perfect comfort soup ended up too “cuminy”.

You don’t have the gift of giftwrapping and the only gift bag on hand is one that has probably been recycled 4 or 5 times already (and you’re out of tissue paper and it’s too late to buy some).

You shared from your talents/skills, but your voice got horse, your scissors turned out to be dull, your markers ran dry…

You couldn’t hide the crossed-out word in a card.

You offered editing help, but didn’t catch every typo.

The decorations didn’t come together.

You made time for someone you love, but had a hard time being present.

You lent someone your car on the spur of the moment—and it was a bit of a mess.

You secretly gave begrudgingly and are afraid that this might have leaked out on your good intentions.

And so on…

Let us give unapologetically—let us rest in what is good, and remember that the giving is not about us—that it’s not a show or a need to prove anything.

People get it. We’ve all been there. We’ve disappointed and we’ve been disappointed because this giving thing is tricky.

Which is why it is a perfect place to pause and choose rest.

May your rest be sweet.

Alicia