Give it away…
“They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” Mark 12:44
Hello, Rise and Shine friends!
We made it through an ice storm here in Georgia over the weekend!
Whew! Anyone else ready for Spring? *raising my hand high
Our weekend was actually wonderful, despite being stuck at home.
My daughter brought home her 4 college roommates to hunker down with us for the weekend.
This momma heart was overflowing!
I told Lem, this is my love language. Cooking, cleaning and laughing with young people! He laughed and just kept saying, “I know, I know.”
Jokingly, I told him I wanted to open up a cafe for college students…a place for comfort food and momma bear hugs. I know I would have loved a place like this so many years ago when I lived in Athens.
Remember how I told you I used to pray for more children? Well, again, God provides. Just a little differently than I imagined. :)
How is your prayer life going?
As the new year began, I felt the Lord speaking to me often about prayer. It is a huge component of our relationship with Him.
Prayer is powerful.
However, I also wrote to you about fasting. The two combined…prayer and fasting…are just extremely potent.
You can find many examples of both prayer and fasting in God’s Word.
Today, I want to talk about “giving”.
Okay, don’t roll your eyes at me. Jesus had a lot to say about giving in the New Testament. A whole lot!
One of my favorite stories is about the poor widow who gave her two copper coins to the Church treasury. Those two coins did not seem like much, but to her they were all she had!
You can find her story in Mark 12.
Many of us consider ourselves generous. However, this poor widow was more than generous….she gave EVERYTHING.
God sees it all. He sees what we have and He sees what we give.
Years ago, the economy was very bleak.
I know a lot of you remember.
We had very small children at the time.
Times were tight, very tight.
During this time, there was not any extra to “give”.
God had showed me this verse many times, and I knew He was speaking to me about this.
Ugh.
Lord, what in the world do I have to give right now??
I prayed and prayed.
Well, it just happens that Christmas had come and gone.
I had received some much needed gift cards.
One day, I opened the envelope they were in and just stared at those gift cards.
This is all I have, Lord.
I felt His pressing on my heart…I knew what I needed to do.
I gave those gift cards away. All of them.
I did not tell Lem because I was afraid of what he would say! Yikes!
Some of them I mailed to people that had blessed me.
Some of them I sent to those in need or who were going through big trials.
I think deep down I was little embarrassed to give them because it seemed so small and silly. So, each gift card was sent anonymously.
Yet, it was all I had to give.
A few weeks after, I was doing laundry.
Suddenly, I realized the clothes had not turned in the washer. They were sopping wet.
UGH.
Not only that, but our dryer was not working.
Oh my goodness. What in the world?
My mind was racing with fear.
Not only had our washer and dryer gone out, but I had just given away gift cards that our family may possibly need.
Fear washed over me.
I called Lem at work and told him our dilemma.
He paused and sighed and said “okay.” I could hear the worry in his voice.
He came home from work that day and we talked about how much it would cost to get new ones…or possibly find some used ones.
Honestly, I did not care where they came from, I just needed to wash my families clothes!
I prayed all night long.
I felt kind of foolish.
I had just been silly enough to give away gift cards…when here we were…without a washer and dryer.
The next morning, my husband went to work.
Mid afternoon, I received a phone call.
It was from Lem’s father.
Weird, he never calls me.
I answered the phone and this is what he said…
“Hey, Jill. Lem says your washer and dryer stopped working.”
Slowly, I answered…”ummm, yes sir.”
He then replied…”Go and buy new ones. I am paying for it. Pick out any kind you want.”
“What?!!!” I gasped!
“Yep. Alright see you later.” He abruptly replied then hung up.
My father in law was a man of few words and he did not like lingering conversations…or emotional ones.
Tears flooded my face as I called Lem with shaking hands.
He was just as shocked as I was! His Dad had not mentioned to him that he had called me.
I will never in my life forget this gesture.
God used Lem’s Dad to bless us…in the biggest way possible that day.
He met us in our great need.
You may not think a washer and a dryer are a big deal…but for us it was HUGE.
Later, I told Lem about the gift cards I had given away.
He was just as stunned as I was about how quickly God blessed us.
I learned so much through that time.
It changed the way I give.
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7
God wants a “cheerful” giver, and He also desires us to give something that means something.
To me, those gift cards meant a whole lot! I needed them…but more than that I desired to obey God in what He was nudging me to do.
Friend, we can never out-give God. NEVER.
He sees it all.
He sees when we give the smallest of things….the things that may seem like nothing to the world…but to us these things are big things!
Like a gift card.
Many of you have similar stories, I am sure.
I could tell you a thousand more!
However, I will just say….let’s be cheerful givers.
Let’s not just give what comes easy or what we won’t miss.
Let’s ask God to move us to give and to give something that means something to us!
Even if you are reading this thinking…”I have nothing to give!”
Just like that poor widow…we all have something.
We just need to ask Him and He will show us.
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! Malachi 3:10
still doing laundry,
jill
