Discipleship as gift-giving

Several years ago, these plates were given to me as a gift as I departed a call and moved into the next season of my journey.  The gift-giver communicated that she had handmade these treasures to reflect all of the things that I had somehow taught her about herself and about G-d.  She admittedly isn't a crafty person, so creating something like this made it all the more special to me.  Today, they hang over my desk, right in plain sight as a reminder, not of what I've accomplished, but instead that I'm learning the same things.  You see, the beauty of discipleship is that you do life together, truly an "iron sharpens iron" experience.  The very words that she felt she learned from me, I had learned from her. 

     These plates have come to be part of my most treasured gifts because they remind me daily of where my strength comes from. They remind me daily that I am not alone.  They remind me that my story matters and that G-d has been all over it, even in the darkest of times. 
     When a gift is given does the giver know the impact of the gift? In a society that prides itself in allowing the receiver to pick it's own gift, how is there even opportunity for the giver to know the weight of what they have given?  My local grocery store has a kiosk of gift cards from any place imaginable. When  you don't know what to give someone, allowing them to choose their own gift via a gift card or even cash, seems to make sense.  But oh, the gifts that someone has thought out, the gifts that speak a piece of their heart to yours.  Those are the gifts that impact. Those are the gifts that change the world. 
     Discipleship is like gift-giving.  The receiver shouldn't be choosing their own gift, but instead the giver imparts a gift that touches the darkness of our lives.  Why is this important? Because as receivers, it's unlikely that we would choose a gift that transforms everything within us.  

     In discipleship, we give of ourselves, our story, our journey and we give it to one another.  It's in that journey together that we decrease, that we learn our poverty and our dependence, not just on G-d, but on one another as well.  It's in the giving of our whole selves that we learn.  

     We learn...

"G-d's love can always be trusted, and  His faithfulness lasts as long as the heavens." 

"The Lord was always there..."

"When I felt all alone, He was there..." 

"We had no one to turn to or depend on but the Lord..." 

"I will praise you again because You help me and You are my G-d." 

"When I am hurting, I find comfort in your promise that leads to life." 

"G-d showed me..." 

"I don't know what I would have done without Him" 

"Daily, I draw my strength from the Lord..." 

"My power and my strength come from the Lord, and He has saved me."