Giving in God’s Name

treasure box with light shining out of it

A Room Filled with Treasure

You showed me a room filled with treasure,

precious, priceless,

and told me it was mine;

I marveled:

what a gift!

such abundance!

a comfort to have it,

but what would I do with it?

then I knew it:

I could give it away…

You interrupted, insisted “This is yours.”

“I can’t give it away?” I asked.

“Beloved heart,

this is yours;

you’ve already given it away.”

And so it is with all we give

in Jesus’ name:

God remembers,

indeed has received

every gift Himself,

for all we gave

was given to

God-in-disguise,

whether or not

we noticed

or knew it;

God, in love, has saved each gift we gave,

priceless, precious treasure in God’s sight.

Love in My Name

It’s not about accomplishing everything;

it’s about the joy in each thing;

I want you whole,

filled full,

even if by emptying yourself for others’ sake;

sometimes

come away with Me

and rest a while,

to not be owned

by all the good

you do for Me

by pouring out

your life in My name;

be owned by Me alone;

be refreshed at My breast;

know that every gift you give

has been received,

is cherished by Me,

for it speaks your love-in-My-name;

know I hold you close;

let My joy revive your soul;

then go out and give again

My love in My name.

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Mary Ellen Smajo has been savoring and writing responses to sacred moments since early high school, when she first began to notice and reflect on God’s tangible actions in our lives. She is a (“very happy and grateful!”) member of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps and serves as the music minister for IVC Chicago. Prior to joining IVC, she worked in clinical education; before that she worked as a medical physicist in the hospital setting. Her PhD is in medical physics, and she did her undergrad at Loyola University Chicago. “These poems are God’s; may they do the work for which they were sent. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.”

11 COMMENTS

  1. Dear Alessandra,
    I really appreciate your insightful comments, and I love your idea of a Copernican revolution! Perhaps that’s part of what God is trying to accomplish though the poems, to invite us to see (and do) in a new way…

  2. Dear Kristen,
    Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful story! I’m so happy that God used these poems to speak to you personally, to affirm your generosity and to confirm your insight that those boys were Jesus in disguise! Your “simple gift” must have brought a lot of joy to God; your story brought a lot of joy to me.
    :^)

  3. In just few simple words you succeeded in “carving” such a deep concept in every body’s mind. Giving looks simple and natural!
    However, this is exactly the contrary of what we experience/practice in our everyday lifes. Then, the poems are not that simple after all: they suggest that we really need a sort of ‘Copernican revolution’ and completely overturn our point of view.
    Thanks!

  4. Your beautiful poems have me tearing up this morning. I read them as God speaking to me personally, so thank you….Yesterday my son played a soccer game against a school in a lower income neighborhood. I was in charge of bringing after game beverages for my son’s team. After we were done, we walked by the opposing team, packing up their things to leave. I had quite a few chocolate milks and Gatorades left over and I said to my son, “we need to give these to them.” I opened the cooler and opened my hands to these boys, some of whom barely spoke English. They looked at me rather skeptically at first, but then the smiles erupted and they gladly took my simple gift, with thanks. And I thought, “these boys are Jesus in disguise”. Such a little thing on my part, but I know God was pleased and I am filled with Joy.

  5. Wow! These are really beautiful! Thank you for sharing your wonderful gifts with us. Your words always stir something deep inside my heart and reveal thought provoking concepts that enrich my life. The treasure that you share in your poetry is priceless indeed!

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