Drew and I received a unique wedding gift. It was given to us by a friend, who is now my boss. It’s a glass container filled with tiny scrolls wrapped in orange ribbon. When we opened it, Drew said, “Oh yeah, I think this is a Jewish tradition. Jews put a jar of blessings by the door, and when guests leave, they offer them one.” I thought it was such a great idea and one of my favorite gifts received at our wedding. It was on display on our mantle at our cramped duplex, and I think I may have offered one to our one and only houseguest thus far.

Anyway, I pulled it out of one the few boxes I managed to unpack, and set it on one of our end tables, where it has remained. I did give a few out recently, when I had a girl’s fondue night. Other than that, they sit there, untouched.

I was searching for inspiration for another blog, and my eyes fell on the jar filled with little wrapped scrolls. I have learned since working with my boss that she gives them often as gifts, and she herself buys them and uses them. I think her intent was for US to read them. Oops. Well, I still like the idea of offering people blessings as they leave, but I suppose I could use a couple for myself.

So I pulled one out and gave myself the challenge of writing about whatever was on the scroll.

May you find precious treasures in your beloved. May her lips drip with honey and her garments be sweetly fragranced. May her fruit be luscious to taste.

Song of Songs 4: 11; 2:3

Um, I think I’ll save that one for Drew.

I picked another one.

May you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kind-hearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.

1 Peter 3:8-9

Now, I think that we received the “wedding blessings” package of scrolls, as many of them have husband or wife related blessings (I peeked at a few) so I could relate this to marriage. Be kind to my husband, don’t throw stuff back in his face, don’t insult him, etc. Bless him instead. Got it. Luckily, we do pretty well at that. We have rules for fair fighting that we abide by, and I know I can say I am very blessed by my husband. I hope he can say the same.

I can relate this verse to the rest of my life too. I should be kind to people. I think I usually do a good job of this. But what about the second part? Do I bless people? Or am I so wrapped up in myself that I miss out on opportunities to bless others? I know that I have blessed people in the past, but do I do it daily? Do I wake up wondering how I can bless people? I’m ashamed to say that is not often the first thing on my brain. It’s usually coffee… then we can talk about blessings. Maybe.

I would like to live my life more in a way that blesses those around me. Whether it be the way I interact with my residents or coworkers at work, or doing something special to bless my husband, or even letting that person in front of me in traffic who’s been trying to get out of that parking lot for the last 20 minutes, I want to be a blessing.