When the woman got to the part of the story where the young husband and wife reveal that they had sold their most prized possessions, the bride her beautiful long hair and the groom his beautiful pocket watch, the young woman began to cry as she read. In fact, she started to cry before she got there, merely anticipating what was to come.

In the story, the wife’s gift to her husband had been a platinum watch chain to go with his beautiful watch and the husband’s gift to the wife had been a set of tortoise shell combs for her hair. Each had made great sacrifice to give a gift to the other.

I thought that the young woman would not be able to finish reading the story. Twice, she stopped and sobbed but then continued on. I looked around the room at the faces of the others listening and saw they were as gripped by what was happening as I was.

Somehow the story, told through tears, highlighted the love and the sacrifice of the gifts of the husband and wife in the tale. It was like hearing the story for the first time again.

When the last words were read, there was a hush. It was a holy moment. The young woman was embarrassed by her tears but we were deeply moved. It was as though God were reminding us of His sacrifice saying, “See? These gifts remind you of my sacrificial gift for you.

In fact, God gave us gifts more than once. First, He gave His only Son to a world pregnant with anticipation. The tears began before the revelation of His gift. Humans weeping for God to send a savior and God weeping for humanity’s fallen and separated existence; yearning for reconciliation.

Thirty-three years after Jesus birth, the Father gave the same gift of His Son again, in sacrifice. And with that gift came yet another gift, the gift of eternal life as the Father raised His Son, Jesus, from the dead.

The young woman’s reading of the story, anointed by tears, was a gift that brought to mind even greater gifts. Another grand irony, and a great joy too, is the young woman was blissfully unaware of the gift she’d given us.