"Give, and it will be given to you: a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38 TNIV)
And, no, I don't mean the jelly-of-the-month club. (I know, I know, I just couldn't resist myself.) Some of the best one-liners are from Clark Griswold and family!
One of my top ten favorite things to do is to pay it forward. If you haven't seen the movie Pay it Forward, go rent it right now. It is awesome! So I must tell this story because it so neat and maybe it will lead to some of you sharing other cool stories along the same line. This is in NO WAY an invitation for me to receive praises or a pat on the back or so someone can say, look what they're doing. This is just a reminder of how things work out when we try to follow God's will.
A while back, Jay texts me mid-day and says he thinks someone we know has a need and we should try to help them out. I don't hesitate. Absolutely is my reply. We don't discuss the amount or where it will come from. It was just a quick yes and we agreed that we'd do it anonymously. End of discussion.
Approximately thirty minutes later, Jay texts me again and asks me if I was expecting a check for $250 because one came in the mail, it looks kinda hinky and he doesn't recognize the name on the check. I think about it a minute and decide it must be for the Booster Club or something, I'll look at it later. Then Jay replies with a thought, maybe it's our vacation condo deposit. Oh, yeah, that's right, that name does ring a bell. Cool, now we had this extra $250 that we weren't really counting on...and that settles it, we'll send $250 as our gift. Awesome.
No joke, another thirty minutes later, Jay texts me again and tells me that someone in our family just gave us an anniversary gift of $200. Weird. We weren't expecting that. We never get money like that as a gift. It was quite a surprise. Okay. I'm getting giddy at this point. This is crazy. I'm telling you I am not making this up...the next day Jay opens up another anniversary card and it has a crisp fifty-dollar bill in it. How amazing is that? Within 24 hours of our decision to help someone out, without hesitation, without having any idea of a dollar figure and where we would pull it from, we were gifted the $250 we had sent to someone else. Now, I don't know about you, but if that doesn't give you goosebumps, nothing will.
This is the power of the Lord. It's not a coincidence. There are no coincidences in God's kingdom. This is how it works. God blesses us when we bless others. That's not to say that the rich get rich because they give back...and it's certainly not to say that some don't. And financially poor people aren't poor because they don't give to others. Blessings aren't always monetary. Blessings can include many things: an overflowing heart, having someone give you a hug or encouragement, seeing food on the table, a healthy family, a steady job. Even something as simple as another noticing you're in a hurry at the grocery store and letting you in front of them is a blessing in my book. God showers us with blessings!
The other really neat aspect of giving and paying it forward is that it is often contagious. You know, someone does something special for you, so next time you're in line at the drive-thru and see the mother behind you looking a little stressed out (probably b/c the kids in the backseat can't decide if they want nuggets or a hamburger and will not give the poor mom a definitive answer) and you have a little extra in your wallet, pay for her order, say a prayer for them and take off. It can be so exciting! Maybe you won't start a movement that changes the world and maybe the person receiving your little blessing is clueless or is so mad at life and lost without Jesus that they don't get it, it doesn't matter. You did what you did for the right reasons and our good Lord knows that!!
Again, I do not share this story to boost my ego. I share it to boost your faith. If you want your heart to burst with joy, do something totally anonymous for someone. Give God the praise for the opportunity. Share your excitement with Him. Don't give expecting anything in return. Give out of faith, love and compassion. You won't regret it.
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