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Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Is It Better To Give Than Recieve?

Today I was given something...for free, but I protested, "Are you sure it's okay, I can just have it, just take it? It feels so wrong!" I think I even asked that more than once. The person who was giving me this stuff just laughed and looked at me contemplatively.

"You seem to have an issue with receiving!"

I paused and thought about that. I wanted to protest, because that would be another imperfection in my character, wouldn't it?

"Yeah, I guess I do, now that you mention it". Thinking back on other times people have offered to help me or give me something for nothing in return, I always protest...always want to give something back.

"But you probably like giving to others, don't you?" this person asked me.

"Yes, I love it!"

"This may speak to heart issues you have, you probably have trouble receiving from your Heavenly Father, don't you?" He asked me. "You feel the need to control situations instead of receiving His provision for you."

Oooohhhh...that makes all kinds of sense in my life. My credit card, for one. It speaks directly to the issue of receiving blessing from God. I don't wait on Him, or even ask of Him. I try and figure it out on my own. And then my generosity gets me in trouble. I need to tap into the blessings God has for me in my own life and then I can give to others without putting it on my credit card and stretching myself beyond our means. A win/win situation.

I thought that I just had some trust/faith issues, but receiving...hmmm, that puts things into even greater perspective. All of this, just from going to a bookstore this morning.

And on that note, we've been working through a faith issue about selling our house. We need about $2000 to finish up everything to the point of putting it onto the market in the condition we would like. We automatically thought Oh, we can just go to the bank and take out a small loan, pay it off when we sell and be done with it, everyone does it, it's totally normal! But then I thought about it a little more...

We just finished going through a week where we literally had to trust God to come through for 3 different payments that we didn't have. Even though they weren't big ($35-50 each), something from nothing is still impossible! He did come through and it was amazing. Miraculous, even. So then, what's $2000 to God. We decided to give Him the chance to prove His provision to us in a bigger way. He's proved Himself faithful in the small, now we will sit back and wait for his blessing and His timing. It's not all about NOW...instant gratification. We don't HAVE to sell our house right now, we just WANT to. In our culture want vs. need is a very blurred line. I asked Jer to remind me of this when I doubted. Sure enough, the very next day I saw a "For Sale" sign on the front yard of someone we know and instantly dealt with jealousy. "How come they can just decide to put their house up for sale and do it, while we have to sit here and wait?" Enter Jer, "we don't HAVE to wait, we decided to wait, remember? Faith?" Oh yeah. Thanks Jer. And thank you God for your blessing in our life and the patience to make it.

8 comments:

Lindsay said...

Erin, I think that's so amazing... I love your little faith experiment. We're so used to getting what we want and doing things for ourselves that it's sometimes hard to remember why we need a Saviour. God loves to bless his kids when they get serious about making their faith in him a real part of the way they live all the little details of their lives...

I'm looking forward to your update, when you get to share the incredible things he's done in your lives as a result of your trust. (But I can wait... heehee).

Jenene said...

I think it's so cool how the topic of faith keeps popping up everywhere. It's exactly what God is bringing me through at this point in my life. And it's kind of exciting, waiting on God, and trusting Him to come through. To look forward to it, instead of fearing that it won't happen. Because it WILL happen! :D

Unknown said...

Erin,
That post spoke to me - for two reasons. 1 - I have the same "problem" with giving, putting the gifts on my cc's, and you know how the rest goes. You are right. Totally right. What a great way to look at it all. (Thank you.)

2 - Here we're dealing with the same thing, sorta, when it comes to the house issue. We're just waiting to sell it. And we're realizing it takes time . . . that while we know it's going to happen, it just might not happen in our timing. I mean, that's been proved already! I had a friend email me telling me that I need to forget about St. Joseph and just hand it over to God. That he'll give us what we need (want) when He is ready. Sigh. She is right. It's all going to work out. Unfortunately our impatience is what makes us human, and God's timing is what makes Him GOD :)

Erin said...

Lindsay - oh, you bet I'll be updating when it all comes together, because I believe He's going to prove Himself greater than we think...

Jenene - It's you that inspires me. Your post about giving your trip to God and holding Him accountable to make it work was great!

Val - I believe you're going to sell your house at just the right time for the right amount. It could just be that even though you're ready, more than ready, the person who God wants your house for isn't ready. I'm trying to remember in my own life that sometimes situations don't just involve me. God's timing is perfect. Put away the statue and put your trust in the Creator of the Universe!!

Louise said...

Great Post Erin... It spoke to me in a lot of ways, I love to give and its hard when the finances are such that you can't and I need to rely on God A LOT more to pull through in areas where I feel its up to me to use 'creative financing', rather than getting stressed just hand it over to God. Thanks for the reminder!!!

svea said...

good word erin. great reminder.=) - glad you are getting better

Nadine said...

Good word Erin. So many people love to give rather than receive. I will pray for you that your home sells at the best price.

Dedee said...

Erin, you rock. See, this is why I gave you your first award! You make me think and remind me to have more faith. I'm in the exact same situation with the cc's and my life right now is very up in the air and I read your post and was reminded how much I need more faith. It's amazing to me that credit cards really are a lack of faith. If I had faith that God would give me my needs and wants when I truly need them, I wouldn't be in near the pickle I am now. You are awesome!

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