As I was dropping the boys off at school this morning, their teacher said, "Come with me. I have something to show you." She led me to a room that held a table of boxes full of food. "This is for your family," she said with a smile. I stood, stunned, for several moments and then uttered a "thank you" before she left the room to make sure the kids had gotten to chapel ok. I opened an envelope I saw on top of the boxes. It contained a gift card to King Soopers and a note that said we would be receiving a Thanksgiving Dinner next Wednesday. It also said they were going to cover hot lunch at school for the boys for 2 months.
I'll admit my first thought was, "We don't need this." I felt a little embarrassed that I had given the impression to someone at the school (couldn't even think of who in the moment) that we needed this kindness extended to us. When the teacher came back to the room, I said with tears in my eyes, "Ya know, I feel bad because I think there are others who need this more than we do. I mean, we do have savings." She said, "Well, this is from a friend...they heard about your situation and they sprang into action. We love you and want to do this for you. And God works in mysterious ways. Maybe He told us to give this to you because He knew you would bless others with it."
Wow. So here I sit, with a room full of food and questions running through my mind. Should we regard this as the creative provision we prayed for when we found out about Erik's pay cut? Is God trying to show us that we need to be prepared because this financial strain is going to last longer than we think? Or is it indeed a gift given to us so that we could give generously to someone else? Perhaps it's all of those things.
All I know is that I am sincerely humbled. And much prayer is needed to determine what our next steps will be.
5 comments:
Wow, that is humbling! I think God is definitly providing for you guys....how neat to see that in action!
This is really cool to see how God chooses to work in others. We too have been on the receiving end of generous gifts from friends. It's hard as a 'man' to accepts these offerings, but I've realized that God is going to do what he wants to do. I am learning that sometimes he guides others to give, and it is not my place to stop others if they feel God tells them to do something. So I'm learning to humbly accept his gifts.
Awwww! What sweetness. God is so good!
I was crying before I finished the first sentence! God is so good. =)
I have had the same thought of "we don't need this" with each gift we've received. A wise woman at church said she used to think the same thing, but then felt God remind her that it's not her job to question God's provision.
It's definitely a lesson in humility. One that I'm learning over and over with each envelope and surprise that we receive.
I feel strange replying to people here because I wonder if anyone actually comes back to look, but I wanted to say thank you for all your sweet comments! Learning to accept such generous gifts is hard and humbling, but God is good and He is teaching me through it! AND I feel tremendously blessed!
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