October 25, 2018

Give and Receive

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

– Galatians 6:2

I am amazed. Thankful. Beyond grateful. Friends arrived to help me clear trees from the last two fence lines. They were amazing.

I didn’t ask for help. I have that pride thing going when it comes to that. I know. I’m working on it. I just don’t want to be a burden to anyone so I try really hard to handle things on my own. They came anyway.

It’s amazing how several people can quickly accomplish what it would take one person hours and hours to do. I think God always knew we’d need each other. He wanted us to reach out, to help, to live lives focused somewhere besides on ourselves.

We’ve seen a lot of reaching out lately in our part of the world. The aftermath of Hurricane Michael is just a news blurb for most people now. But for the victims, well, the nightmare has only just begun. The need is great.

People show up every day with food and water. They donate clothes and shoes, toys and diapers, towels and pillows. They come with chainsaws and work gloves, and buckets filled with cleaning supplies. Because these people need more than prayers. They need the hands and feet of God’s people.

We all need help at some time in our lives. Several years ago a sweet woman brought her three children to church every Sunday. Her son was in elementary school and she had twin infant daughters. They lived in a rural area. Her husband was deployed – again. She worked a fulltime job. She was overwhelmed. But she came to church. Why? Because for a couple of hours a week she could turn her babies over to the loving and capable ladies who volunteered in the nursery and soak in the peace of Christ.

One Saturday, the youth and several adults went to her house. They mowed and pulled weeds. They trimmed back trees and did numerous handyman chores. They did the things her husband would have done if he hadn’t been serving in a war zone. She was overwhelmed with gratitude.

Surely, she needed our prayers. And we all did pray for her and her children. But she needed help, the kind of help that shows up to rock babies and do yardwork.

Prayer is so very powerful. It’s our first line of defense and our first source of wisdom and direction. But don’t let it be your only outlet when it comes to serving others. Sometimes we all need to feel the physical presence of Jesus, as shown to us through the hands and feet of His people.

There’s a time to give and a time to receive. So give of yourself, your time, your efforts and, when your circumstances change, receive with gratitude and grace the offerings from others.