The Gift
"Something To Ponder"

Her name was Vera. I first saw her as I entered the facility where my Mama resides. She was sitting in the lobby, hunched over in her chair, busily working on something. Every time I would walk through the lobby there was Vera, still sitting, still working. One day I went up to her to say hello and asked her what she was working on. She looked up at me with cloudy eyes and gave me a big smile. She told me that she had been a knitter her whole life and for many years she had made beautiful blankets and sweaters, but her poor eye sight and arthritic hands kept her from doing so any more. When I looked down I saw that her hands were indeed, gnarled and swollen.

As I started to leave Vera told me to wait and she opened up her purse She reached in and brought out a pot holder that she had made. When she went to close her purse I noticed that it was filled to the brim with them. As she handed me the pot holder she told me that the stitches weren't perfect but that she had tried her best. Tears filled my eyes and I reached over and gave her a great big hug and a kiss on her cheek. As I was walking away, I could hear the steady rythmn of the clicking needles again.

Later, as I was talking to my sister, I told her about the gift and she said, "you must have met Vera." She went on to tell me that every person that Vera meets is gifted with a pot holder that she has made. Why, even my four year old niece and one year old nephew have one! As I pondered all of this I knew that I would treasure this pot holder forever, imperfect stitches and all. In my heart I knew that Vera had given me a much greater gift that day. You see, sometimes gifts aren't just felt with the hands, they are felt within the heart.