Jimmy's Gift, The Joy that Comes with Giving

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It is hard to believe that this is already Thanksgiving week. Before it slips past us, I’d like to share one of my favorite memories of thankfulness and giving. For me, it is a reminder to cherish each other and to be present with each other, so I like to revisit it often. Here is the story:

Jimmy lived in a room at the YMCA and frequented the restaurant where I waited tables during my college years. Each day he would walk over to the restaurant, request to sit at my table and order a single cup of coffee. Even though he couldn’t afford to, he always left a dollar tip. In those days, coffee cost just a few coins. Jimmy was probably nearly 100 years old, toothless, and frail. His face, drawn, wrinkled, and waxy with age, could have been a poster image for centenarians. When he smiled, however, the light of joy illumined his face and leaped right out into my heart. Jimmy and I became quite a pair. He loved to make me laugh, and I loved to see him smile. He lived off of social security checks, and the trips to the restaurant were his daily entertainment.

When I was engaged, I brought a wedding invitation to the restaurant and gave it to Jimmy. He was touched and embarrassed, so we teased about how dashing he would look in a top hat and tails. When I first thought of bringing him the invitation, I didn’t realize what it would mean to him to be invited or how impossible it would be for him to come.

My last day of work came, and before leaving town for my wedding, I served Jimmy one last time. Jimmy was in the booth waiting for me when I arrived for my shift. He beamed his smile at me, took off his wristwatch, and presented it to me as my wedding gift. It was a man’s silver wind-up timepiece, old and worn, and it would not have been more beautiful to me had it been studded with diamonds.

Jimmy studied my face as I paused, taking in the magnitude of the moment. This was the gift of gifts. Jimmy could not afford to give it, and I could not afford to turn it away. He would probably never own another wristwatch. We joked about how I would now surely be on time for my wedding. Jimmy and I never saw each other again after that day. But I can still picture the beautiful smile that filled my heart and touched my soul. I wore that watch for a long time afterward to remind myself that the gift itself is in the giving.

I learned so much about life and giving from Jimmy. His smile, every day, reminded me to be grateful for the beauty in our lives everywhere we can find it, and his gift reminded me that giving from our hearts is what truly enriches us.

Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, wrote, “Giving does not impoverish us, neither does withholding enrich us.”* Jimmy lived that philosophy. There is joy in giving, and Jimmy helped me to understand that joy. I was poignantly reminded that it is not the size of the gift that matters but the love behind it. I wish you all the gift of gratitude and the joy of giving this Thanksgiving day and always.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Merry

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