A Gift to Cherish

As a Christmas gift a few years ago, my father sent each of my siblings and me a framed photo of himself...it was a wonderful portrait that had been taken for the latest church directory.

The next December, Dad died suddenly just two weeks before Christmas.

The day he passed away, I moved that photo to an end table in the family room situated next to where I sit nearly every evening. It remains there, where I can "sit next to him." I'm sure it was just coincidence that this was the last gift I received from him.

His health had been very good the year the photo was taken, so I doubt he was thinking of this as some sort of final memento for his children. Still, I marvel at the power of that image - which I look at every day. Often, his smile makes me smile. Sometimes looking at it makes me sad. It never fails to conjure up some sort of emotion. What a gift! How glad I am to have it!

That photo underscores how seemingly insignificant things can end up making such an impact - that can last for years, or perhaps a lifetime.

Who's to know if something we do tomorrow might end up being monumentally meaningful to someone?

Of course, what's significant to one person may not be to another. I have no idea if my brothers and sister feel the same way about that photo as I do.

Still, it's a great reminder that often it's the small gesture, or kind word, or some other sort of "every day," unassuming thing or occurrence which may end up being extremely noteworthy...perhaps something that will never be forgotten.