Receiving gifts graciously
Do you ever hear things or see
things in close succession and
realise that there is a lesson
to be learned? My week has been
full of it.
My first lesson came at
Ragdale Hall. I was chatting
to one of the Jennifer Young
therapists. He mentioned his
auntie who was about to get
married and had a terminal
diagnosis. Jennifer Young
products are on the gift list,
so I gave him some. The gift was
given with nothing other than
giving in mind. There was never
any expectation of the gift being
reciprocated.
The therapist was determined to
give me a gift in return, and he
did, much to my embarrassment.
Lesson number 2 – I went to a
lunch meeting with my friend and
colleague Sabine, I often take
products to meetings and Sabine
and I have a lunch habit. It was
my turn to pay but she refused to
let me as I had given her one of
our new face collections (still
not available from our site but
you can see it in some spas and
specialist online retailers).
I had every intention of taking
my turn to pay for lunch and to
give a gift as a gift.
Lesson number 3 – Paige bought a
lot of chocolate for the office
(and I mean A LOT) driven by the
absolutely outstanding work done
by Alice this week. Alice got a
box to herself, as did Paige, in
recognition of the fact that she
thinks she is awesome. The rest
of us got a box to share.
I suggested that Paige put the
chocs through as expenses
“no, the chocolates are gifts,
I like giving gifts. I didn’t
buy to receive’
Lessons 4 and 5
(I know, 5 since Thursday night)
My middle daughter had to give a
presentation on religion and the
future of humanity (she is doing
A levels in sciences and French –
go figure). She found a
commandment to reinforce all of
my ‘give and no need to receive’
beliefs.
‘it is more blessed to give than
to receive’
Result
Or so I thought. I was reminded
of a guest blog from 2013; the
take home message?
But don’t be selfish! Foster a
spirit not just of giving but
also of receiving. In between
your own generosity and all the
Christmas preparations, make
sure you also let others give
you gifts, and give you time,
attention, love and support -
and work at receiving them with
good grace and a warm smile! In
being prepared to receive from
others you are doing a good and
generous thing in allowing them
to be showered with blessings as
they enjoy being able to do the
giving.
I’ve learned my lesson.
Receiving gifts
Jennifer
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