I love when the Lord takes time to teach me lessons....for two reasons:
1) I know He hasn't given up on me... which I'm sure He's contemplated a few times.. HA
2) Usually its a lesson I can apply for the rest of my life here on earth, and hopefully positively impact the furtherance of His kingdom...
Needless to say.. this week was all about life lessons!
It's no secret.. Tim and I love blessing others by opening our home, sharing our things and spending time with people. We try to be there when someone is sick, for church related needs... or when there is a call for food, clothing or conversation. If we dine at a restaurant, we outreach the other guests for the check when we can...
Only this week did I start to see a flaw in our wanting to be generous..
I was so embarrassed when our car broke down last weekend, and Tim was too. We became more embarrassed when we had to accept help from our close friends in order to fix it and so forth.
Both of us have spent the last few nights with our thoughts racing and colliding. "Why"..we wondered "did we feel so uneasy about accepting help?" Then it occurred to me...
How many people had we embarrassed with our generosity? In our eagerness, we had failed to be sensitive to those who were made uncomfortable by our unsolicited giving.
Sometimes I am so busy displaying "goodness" I fail to see the needs of others. I prayed several times this week for the Lord to help me to pause, listen and hear their words.
It will probably be difficult for me, but I'm committed to stop forcing attention onto others. I think I'll try to give in other ways... you know ...create a balance...like complimenting, or showing consideration, and also accepting from others when help is offered.
There's a warm joy in our doing. Yet, there is as great a need to open the heart to receive...These days, I'm learning to do more of that.
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