“For me?” I asked with wide-eyed excitement as my nine-year-old student beamed up at me, a gift in hand. The tiny red box with a silver ribbon was the fourth gift I received from my Level 0 English students that week. It was crazy to think that these children had been absolute strangers only nine weeks before, too shy to even say their names when asked. I could not have foreseen that, nine weeks later, what had begun as a simple, thankful reaction to a thoughtful gesture would create a trend. Yet, the entire experience made me realize that they had stolen my heart and taught me a lesson I would never forget. I was beginning to understand how much I loved them and just how much they loved me, too.

The trend began with a 10-year-old girl giving me three pens. In our class, one or two students always arrived without writing utensils, and despite my incessant admonishments to come prepared, the behavior continued. What’s more, our classroom did not have extra utensils for the students to use. This made me scramble daily to find something for the forgetful students. Every day, I would think of bringing extra pencils, and every evening, I would forget to pack them for the next day. The little girl caught on to the problem and thought of resolving it with a simple contribution of three pens so I could give them to whoever had forgotten to pack one that day. However, the gesture caught me so off guard that I nearly started hopping with elation. It was a simple act of thoughtfulness, but my joyful reception of the token sparked something in their hearts.

I couldn’t believe it when, the next week, I received a makeshift envelope made from notebook paper attached along the edges with bright duct tape. My heart filled with joy as I giddily opened the package. It wasn’t the contents that excited me; the gift consisted of only a few elastic hairbands, Hello Kitty hairclips, and colorful pencil tips. No. The moment I opened it, I knew it wasn’t anything I really needed or typically used, but the joy I felt was undeniable because I saw the fruit of my loving labor. Once I had given each article proper attention, I deposited the contents back into the makeshift envelope and gave the little girl a huge hug. She hugged me back tightly, and my heart melted. Nothing can ever top this feeling, I thought to myself.

I was unprepared for the next evening when another little girl arrived with a gift for me. The contents of this one were a beautiful drawing of a Cambodian flower and a small bag of kinetic sand. Once again, my heart overflowed with joy at her pure, heartfelt gift. I couldn’t help but titter with delight, and I embraced her warmly to show my appreciation. The following day, I was again surprised by another student who gifted me a small Pnong coin purse and a little friendship bracelet she had assembled using colorful beads.
This brings me to the final day and the final gift. I smiled when I saw the little red box. How could such silly little trinkets bring me so much joy? When I saw the gift, it was like a veil was pulled back, and my heavenly Father showed me His own heart.

All my adult life, I had struggled with accepting God’s love for me. Why would God put up with such a broken mess? What could I contribute to His cause? All my gifts were absolute rubbish. He could do so much better with the talents of an angel or any other more worthy believer. But as I stood before that little girl and her loving, heartfelt trinkets, I finally understood. It is true. Our heavenly Father does not need our gifts, offerings or tokens. Most of them would be considered insignificant to anyone else.

But He is OUR Daddy! He has invested so much time, love and work into our salvation. He has loved us unconditionally through our learning failures and frustrating trials. When we come with joyful hearts and present Him all that we have, He loves each one of our offerings because they come from those whom He treasures. He sees our love, and that brings Him immeasurable joy.

From the greatest intellects to the meager yet willing heart, from the fanciest perfume to the cheap elastic hairbands and those three pens, God sees the heart with which each is given, and He beams with love, pride and joy. He’s not looking for perfection. He doesn’t want the bountiful leftovers. Two small coins, given with love, that’s all He wants. So why not give Him all that we have? Great or small, I promise, the joy in our Father’s face and His encouraging words will bring unfathomable joy to the giving heart.

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