A GIFT IS BEING GIVEN

"A Little Gift", oil,
by Debbie Miller

 Years ago, a woman I knew experienced some serious suffering, and I remember being astonished to hear her say, in the very midst of her misery, “I can’t wait to see how this is going to transform into something good for me.” She was smiling as she said it, not a wide and showy smile (for she was, in fact, suffering) but an almost secret one that simply said, “I see something good coming my way.” There was a sense of self-assurance, almost a sanguine buoyancy, in her smile, as though she understood that goodness sometimes gives its best gifts precisely in the center of suffering. She was sincerely interested, I could sense, in seeing how goodness would somehow work its wizardry inside her suffering – somehow transform her anguish into wisdom and advancement. I think of her sometimes when I’m working through some small misfortune. I see her smile in her wise way. I hear her say, “A gift is being given to you. Don’t miss it.”