There’s something about the gifts that you remember.The ones where thoughtfulness and intention bring about levels of meaning unlike anything you’ve remembered before. One of my favorite gifts came in the most unlikely of seasons.
I was wrapping up my senior year of college and graduating a semester early. My college community was a beloved one. I was finishing a season with all sorts of question marks. Once finals were finished, I would move back home to my parent’s house and would be unemployed. I had nothing to show for three years and a half years of hard work and entering into one of the worst job markets our economy had ever seen. My roommate had become one of my best friends and I couldn’t imagine life without seeing her multiple times a day. This community was one of the best. We traveled together. We went vacationing, backpacking, hiking, and camping together. We led prayer houses and ministries together. Our apartment was the gathering place. We hosted Friday night dinners, Friendsgivings, and Christmas dinners where we all wore our best. My college career was full of phenomenal souls and even better beautiful people who knew how to leave a legacy unlike ever before.
As I was leaving school, I knew my heart was hurting. I needed to prepare myself for love, loss, and the transition of a beautiful life, to what felt like harrowing unknowns. What came to me that Christmas was unexpected and exactly what my heart needed. My heart needed words to articulate the season, provided by the very ones who had shaped it, made it beautiful, and brought meaning to our community.
Clothed in a soft blue binding, it was a photo book. On each page was filled with memories, friends, and letters from friends as I left school. There were pictures of four years of life shared. Every breakthrough, every celebration, we carried each other along the way. With every flip of the page, more words of identity poured into the core of my inmost being. In every season, I’ve found the beauty of these words to serve as anchors, over my life, and my destiny.
It was one of the most thoughtful gifts I’ve ever received. As I took time reading through every page, tears came to my eyes. Thoughtful, meaningful, and timeless. This gift is one of my favorite things. If you ask me, what I would grab in a fire in 5 minutes, this would be it.
Emily, you were and are a gem. Discover the full story in the video below.
Best Gift Ever from Glisten and Grace on Vimeo.
The. Best. Gift.
What is the favorite gift you’ve ever received?
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