Stepping Out in RED Shoes!
- Day 154 -
It’s a blessing in disguise!
Recently a situation arose, in which a friend offered to
help me with something. Normally,
I would just take care of such a thing on my own, but in this specific
circumstance, I wasn’t able to. My
friend was most generous with her time and effort. After thanking her sincerely for all her help, I retreated
to a quiet place and had myself a little cry.
It’s humbling receiving help… especially when you live in a
world that always stresses the importance of taking care of yourself. I was embarrassed! How could God possibly be in this?
“You’re looking at it from the wrong perspective.”
God said.
“In order to be a great Giver,
you need to experienced Receiver.”
Almost two years ago, that minister that prophesied I was
about to experience a Quantum Leap gave me a warning:
“Stay humble!” she said.
Knowing that was good advice, I spent some time studying
what it meant. I came to the
conclusion that to remain humble, I must continually keep God on the throne of
my heart. Life is about Him, not
me. He’s the Leader, I’m the
follower. He’s in the forefront,
I’m in the background. He always
gets the glory. Nothing good
happens without Him. On my own, I
have nothing worthwhile to offer.
Pride, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. It’s when you think "You’re All That!” -- “ You’re God’s Gift to the World.” -- “Who’s better than you?” You’re on the throne.
You’re driving the car.
You’re calling the shots.
YOU. YOU. YOU. It’s all about you!
None of us likes to think that we’re filled with pride, but
if we’re honest, we’ve all experienced a moment, at one time or another, when
we got “a little too big for our
britches,” and someone knocked us off our “high horse.”
It’s never our intention to be prideful, but if you
don’t check yourself every now and again, somehow, it will creep in and You’ll
end up on the throne. We need to
train ourselves to be humble. It
doesn’t happen naturally because the flesh will always get in the way.
Giving comes in many sizes and shapes. It could be money, but it could also be the giving of your time or expertise -- lending a helping hand. It ranges from helping someone pay an important bill, to providing a meal. It may
be availing oneself to run an errand, or cutting
someone’s grass for them. Maybe someone needs
help with their tax preparation?
During this season in RED shoes,
I've found myself, on more than one occasion, on the “receiving end” for a change. I can't express enough how thankful I was, each and every time, for the generosity that others showed me. I have noticed, however, that there are
many types of givers
- Some people's generously comes complete with a sermon on how you need to get your act together.
- Others give generously while making it clear that you owe them.
- Some people give because they want others to know they are givers. They like the prestige of giving.
- There are many people who give with "no strings attached." They're just glad to help!
- Lastly, there are those who give unconditionally and sometimes even anonymously. They manage to do it in such a way that it makes you want to thank God with exuberance! It's as if God, Himself, met your need personally.
Let me say this upfront. As a receiver, I always appreciated each and every gift
regardless of how it was given. It
met a need, and I was thankful for it.
My prayer has always been that God would bless those people for their
generosity. I’m well aware that
people don’t have to give anything, to anyone, ever. No one has to help.
A lot of people aren’t interested in helping others in any way, shape or
form and don’t. That’s their prerogative. When someone does decide to lend a helping hand, it should be appreciated.
As this season of training comes to an end,
God is asking me to choose, from experience,
what kind of Giver I want to be.
All I can say is this: As a Giver over the decades, I've fallen into many of those categories myself. However, having now been on the receiving end in so many different
kinds of situations and circumstances, my measure of understanding in the
matter has increased significantly. That said...
- I will never be the same.
- My giving will never be the same.
- My motive for giving will never be the same.
- I will give more.
- I will give more frequently.
- I will give less judgmentally.
- I will give more joyfully.
- I will give more anonymously.
- I will give more graciously.
Did I enjoy Humility 101? Not really. Was it beneficial? It may have been the most important class I've ever taken. It was life changing! It was a blessing in disguise.
In RED shoes,
Gail
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