Give

We were sitting at the kitchen table last night. Just a few lights were on. The tree illuminated the living room. The lights we hung inside lit up the kitchen. (We decided to hang lights inside instead of outside this year!) The only sound was our voices...talking together...spending time talking. Sitting on the table were my text books for next quarter. One...Ethnicity and Family Therapy....she wondered why I had to read it....wasn't counseling easy...just listen and tell them what to do...She opened the book...the chapters are broken in to various cultural groups...she began to read aloud...and was fascinated by the ways other countries and groups of people believe. She told me...if you counsel someone from ____ you will have to know ____ about them....she reads...we listened...sometimes we laughed...we talked about God and what the Bible says...but mostly we listened to a hurting girl tell us something she found interesting....

In the midst of our reading and just sitting together with the sound of TV and radio off...the doorbell rang...at the door stood three men...in their hands were bags of groceries...so much all we could say was thank you...what else do you say...we sit at the table...and they come...they give us what we can not get ourselves....a turkey....some ham...potatoes and bread....gravy...milk and cheese...cranberries, juice...veggies galore...apple pie...sausage....food to fill our tummies...food to fill our hearts with the knowledge that we must give back..

Our world that god created is full of people...all kinds of people...that want and need to be loved and valued...how do we do that all by ourselves...we reach one person, one family at a time...we give them groceries....we bring them a blanket....we hand them gloves....we fill a bag with healthy snacks to get them through the day....we say hello to them and give them a smile...we fill their gas tank...we sit and visit...send a hand written note...

Three men...they walk to the stable where Jesus lay...they give him gifts...they lay them in front of his bed...they give because they have to give...out of their hearts they give...gifts...they traveled far to give...they didn't think twice about giving to this baby...they just knew they had to give.

What can you give?
Jesus
Love
Encouragement
Peace
Joy
Healing
Forgiveness
Grace
Mercy

We sit at the table...and we are given to...when we are in need...they gave to us freely...and we must give too...we must give...because God gave freely to us. He gave us the greatest gift of all...His Son...He gave because he loved us. No other reason. How could we not give in return?

Blessings,
Teresa