The Most Precious Gifts

It is difficult for me to comprehend how much things have changed in my short lifetime. I’m the oldest of the four children my parents raised in the two decades following World War II.

When I was born, my parents lived in a small basement that had two rooms and a path. There was no running water, no air conditioning, and the bathroom was 100 yards down a winding footpath. Mom cooked on a wood stove and I can remember gathering kindling for her to cook breakfast. We had a radio, but no TV or telephone until years later. I would hide every time Mom mentioned a bath, because that meant a good scrubbing with homemade lye soap in a No. 3 galvanized washtub. Life was hard, and most young American families would not dare consider living in those conditions today.

Some would say we were poor, but that is not true. We didn’t have money; however, we were rich in so many ways. There was always homegrown food on the table, clothes on our backs, laughter in our house, and more than enough love to go around. My favorite memories are the nights when Mom read to us from the classics, like Moby Dick, Treasure Island, Little Women and Mark Twain’s tales about life on the Mississippi River. Dad often worked nights, but when he was home, he gathered the family around the dinner table and read the great stories in the Bible. Those were precious times.

I worked hard, like many parents in the Baby Boom generation, to give my two children the things that I did not have. They grew up with running water, indoor plumbing, air conditioning; TV, stereo systems, telephones and computers. Both children had enough toys to fill a tractor-trailer truck. Neither of them has ever experienced a drafty outhouse on a cold, windy winter’s day.

It was easy to give my children what I did not have. The hard part was giving them what my parents had given me: unconditional love, a love of Jesus, firm guidance, and a sense of true direction. These gifts cannot be purchased at any price, but they do require an enormous investment of time and effort. The dividends they return are worth the cost to every parent.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent and praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4: 8-9 NIV)

Tom Powell
Clarksville, TN

Prayer: Loving Father, help us as earthly parents to focus on the things that are truly important. Forgive us when we give our children toys as substitutes for our time and energy. Please give us the wisdom and the passion to share with them the precious gifts that last throughout this lifetime and all eternity. Amen.


February 27, 2008