Receiving Graciously

I just wanted to share with you a gift that was given to our oldest son last week; a gift from a husband and wife that we have never met.  Also to share a bit about my thoughts on giving and receiving.  The former has always been something that has come easily to me, the latter much harder to accept.

Remember this picture I posted here on the blog several weeks ago....

Well, they originally offered to give, yes, give Thomas a snare drum to get him started.  That is what we told him - that a generous couple, whose husband was a professional drummer, would like to ship him a snare drum. 

In the interim, through email correspondence, I learned that they wanted to get an entire drum set together for him.  I left this a surprise.

This past Friday, when UPS arrived and I sent Thomas out to help the driver, his eyes lit up as there was not one medium size box as he had been long anticipating, but two, large, heavy boxes.

And now...

We have had to set up a daily practice time, because yes, the noise is overwhelming at times, and not so plain, but it is oh so joyful.  They are realizing their passion - to write their own music and now to play in their very own rock band.

future drummer

I have realized that the joy that I receive when giving to others, needs to be reciprocal when I am on the receiving end.  I do not need to worry about the giver's motives or what they expect in return, but instead I need to be a cheerful receiver and accept the gifts because by doing so, I am giving back too.