FOURTEEN
THE GIFT OF
LOVE
Love is a treasure
for which we can never pay.
The only way we keep it
is to give it away.
for which we can never pay.
The only way we keep it
is to give it away.
I must admit to
having mixed emotions as I awaited Jason Stevens’ arrival for what
I knew would be the beginning of our last monthly journey together
in this yearlong odyssey of discovery. I was elated about the
progress Jason had made, and I felt confident and excited about the
future he had before him; but I was also struck with the sense of
loss that comes at the end of any difficult but meaningful
journey.
I felt, in a way, as
if I would be losing my longtime friend, Red Stevens, once again
because I would not be able to look forward to these monthly
visits. On the other hand, if I had learned anything from going
through this transformation with Jason, it was a fact that the best
of Red Stevens would always be with me.
Miss Hastings called
me on the intercom to let me know that Jason Stevens had arrived. I
met them in the conference room, and I believe they both, in a way,
were sharing the same mixed emotions I felt.
Miss Hastings
performed her now familiar ritual of taking the videotape from the
box Red Stevens had left in our vault along with his will. She put
the tape in the video player at the end of our conference
room.
Red Stevens’ image
appeared on the large screen, and knowing him as well as I did, I
believed he was feeling some of the same emotions we all
shared.
Red began. “Jason, I
want to congratulate you for making it to the last step of the
ultimate gift I planned for you. I am very proud that you obviously
made it through the learning process involved in the gift of a day
from last month. I do not know what you planned for your last day,
but I know it was judged acceptable by Mr. Hamilton. I would
imagine that the activities you planned for the day were much like
mine—very simple and somewhat ordinary.
“If we are living our
lives the way we should, everything should be in such an order that
we wouldn’t change the last day of our life from any other day.
Please always remember that none of us is guaranteed a long life.
We’re not guaranteed anything but today.
“Also, I think if you
will consider it, you will realize that there is probably nothing
that you would plan for your last day of life that you couldn’t do
today or tomorrow. Somehow, I think life’s tragedies are made up
not as much of the great failures as much as of the simple
pleasures and kind gestures missed.”
Red Stevens paused,
and I could feel his emotions and all of ours as we sat in the
darkened conference room.
Finally, he
continued. “Jason, in this last month, I’m going to introduce you
to the one part of my ultimate gift to you that encompasses all of
the other gifts as well as everything good you will ever do, have,
or know in your life. That is the gift of love.
“Anything good,
honorable, and desirable in life is based on love. Anything bad or
evil is simply life without the love involved. Love is a misused
and overused term in our society. It is applied to any number of
frivolous things and pursuits; but the love I am talking about in
the gift of love is the goodness that comes only from God. Not
everyone believes or acknowledges that. And that’s okay. I still
know that real love comes from Him—whether or not we know
it.
“Since love is a part
of each of the other gifts you have experienced throughout this
year, during the next thirty days, I want you to explore how love
is involved in all the other gifts, and prepare to share what you
find with Mr. Hamilton.
“Please remember that
your attitude and your performance are still being judged, and if
you fail—even in the twelfth month—you will not be receiving the
entire ultimate gift I have planned for you. My warning to you is
not meant to be threatening, but holding you to the highest
standard in my own way is the greatest act of love I can show
you.”
Red Stevens’ image
faded, and the screen was, once again, dark.
Jason sat motionless
for several minutes. I knew that he was deep in thought. Finally,
we all stood and quietly left the conference room. It was almost as
if we had been to a memorial service for Red Stevens. I felt it was
a fitting tribute to my oldest and dearest friend.
On the last day of
the month, Miss Hastings ushered Jason into my office. They both
sat in their familiar places, and we exchanged brief greetings. I
could tell that Jason had much on his mind.
“Mr. Hamilton and
Miss Hastings,” Jason began, “I do not have the words to express
what this process over the last year has meant to me. I am simply
not the same person I was a year ago. I feel that, in many ways,
today is my birthday. I want to thank you both for being a part of
it.”
I noticed that
Jason’s eyes seemed moist, and Miss Hastings’ seasonal allergies
seemed to act up at that very moment. I will admit to feeling a
lump in my own throat. Jason took a deep breath and launched into
his report.
“During the first
month of this year, I was angered and very resentful of not
receiving an inheritance like everyone else in the family. I was
further frustrated when I learned about what I thought then was a
crazy plan for the entire year. Then I found myself learning about
the gift of work with Gus Caldwell down in Texas.
“At that time, love
was the furthest thing from my mind when Gus Caldwell ordered me to
dig post holes and build a fence. But as I look back on it, I
realize that Mr. Caldwell had a great love for my Uncle Red and
passed that on to me. He loved me enough to make sure that I
learned the entire lesson that my Uncle Red planned for the gift of
work. I also learned that there is a certain love which comes from
doing a job well. When you can step back at the end of a long, hard
day and watch the sun set over a straight and strong fence that you
built yourself, you get the feeling that everything is right with
the world.
“During the month
when I learned about the gift of money, I learned that loving money
leads to a hollow, empty existence. But when you learn how to love
people and use money, everything is in its proper
perspective.
“From the gift of
friends, I learned that you can love others in a way I had never
known. When you just worry about yourself, you are always
disappointed. But when you think about others and their well-being
first, everything works out best for you and for them.
“From the gift of
learning, I discovered that people who have no material things—but
a passion to learn and a true love of learning—are really quite
wealthy. This love for knowledge has come into my life, and I
cannot believe that I was so self-centered that I ignored the
wisdom of the ages as I pursued my own
self-destruction.
“The gift of problems
taught me that obstacles are nothing more than a challenge that we
face. Before this year, I looked at problems as something that was
totally bad, something that had to be dealt with—or, better yet,
ignored. But when you look at your problems through a spirit of
love, you realize that there is a grand design to this world, and
the problem is given to you for the lesson it will teach you and
the better person it will make you.
“From the gift of
family, I learned that families are present when love is present.
People can become a family when they add love to their
relationships. Without love, families are just a group of people
who share the same family tree.
“The gift of laughter
taught me that in order to love life, you have to enjoy it. And
when you can laugh at the good things and the bad, you will begin
to feel the love life really has to offer.
“During my
exploration of the gift of dreams, I came to understand that life
has been given to us with a sense of love for everything around us.
Our passions and dreams and goals are the outward manifestations of
the love we feel inside.
“Before I experienced
the gift of giving, I thought that if you gave something away,
someone else now possessed it, and you were left with less than you
had before. In reality, when you give out of love, both the giver
and the receiver have more than they started with.
“The gift of
gratitude taught me that we can truly feel and experience love when
we remember and enjoy all of the wonderful things we have been
given.
“And, finally, from
the gift of a day, I learned that if I only had twenty-four hours
left to live, I would want to feel and experience as much love as I
could and pass it on to as many others as possible.”
Jason paused and
cleared his throat. I was just about to tell him that I heartily
approved of his mastery of the gift of love, when he
continued.
“If I were going to
really try to define the gift of love in tangible terms, I would
have to cite as an example what my Uncle Red did for me and what he
gave me during this last year. When we truly love others, our love
makes each of us a different person, and it makes each one we love
a different person too.
“My Uncle Red’s love
for me in giving me the ultimate gift forever changed my life and
who I am.”
Jason rose to his
feet and hugged Miss Hastings. He stepped around my desk and hugged
me as well. He thanked us both for everything and let us know that
he looked forward to staying in touch with us in the
future.
As Jason put his hand
on the doorknob, I stopped him by saying, “Just a minute, Jason.
There is one more step in the ultimate gift that you don’t know
about.”