To be honest, I was in another world. My thoughts and emotions were light years away. To say I was conscious of my surroundings would have been stretching the truth. Yet, it was in that nebulous moment, of being neither “hither nor yon,” that my mind picked up a snapshot of life.
It was a group of people somewhere off to my right, clustered around a new bicycle. There was the recipient, obviously enthralled with the new purchase and its proud statement to the world. The siblings were enthusiastic, caught up in the moment as only brothers and sisters can be. But it was the Mother who showed it all. There was a smile across her lips and the “crow’s feet” pattern of laugh lines at the corner of her eyes. The reading of her face revealed the sheer pleasure of the moment.
The Mother had offered of herself, embraced by a love that went beyond cost, to the sure affection of unbridled giving. She had purchased the bike for her child and was aglow, basking in the warmth and grace of the transaction.
In that moment, I knew, without a shadow of doubt, that indeed, “it is more blessed to give….”