Trevor and I were talking about this the other day after a sermon about stewardship. Not only did we talk about giving to the church corporately, but also setting aside resources each month so that we can bless people. It was a really encouraging conversation to have as a soon-to-be married couple! I love the way that God has begun to shape our minds in order to focus on being servants in our marriage to one another as well as others.
Tonight when I was spending some time with God, our conversation about being able to bless others came to my mind... I feel like this season in my life could very easily be a selfish, "all about me and my wedding" phase, but instead, I would like to make a commitment to making it about others...others besides Trevor and I.
I have had SO many people serve me and love on me unconditionally over the past 2 years and I have struggled with the thought of whether I could ever reciprocate that level of servanthood to those individuals. I have wrestled with this for the past year with constantly feeling like I "owe" some of my closest friends and family something. I have come to the answer... I DON'T owe my friends anything... they are amazing believers that wanted to serve me and my family during a season of my life and were a huge BLESSING to me. Most of them would probably be offended to hear that I would possibly feel like I "owed" them something, but that is the human response... when someone gives you something, you give it back....when someone does you a favor, you also do them one....this is just how our society works. In the kingdom of God, I believe it works differently. When I choose by my own will to serve/bless someone, I expect nothing in return and I just have to accept that it's the same way when someone chooses to bless me or my family.
This is what I have realized...I have been living in guilt that I could never return the blessings that my friends have shown me over the past 2 years and instead I need to be thankful for those people and know that God will create an opportunity for me to bless them and others during different seasons of their lives as well. I have a dear friend (like a sister) who has told me that one of the biggest blessings in her life was that she was able to provide stability to me in my time of need. When she was a child, she didn't have that stability and security and could never imagine being the source of that to someone else. Over the years, she was blessed by tons of people within her church community and shared with me that she was finally able to bless me in the same way that all of those other people blessed her. We have now become family through that blessing that God orchestrated. Thinking about her story makes me realize that I have been SO blessed by different friends/family and that God will provide opportunities for me to be that blessing to others throughout my life on His timing as well.
God has also shown me that even though I have not been able to serve people in the same way that people served me, He has created ways for me to bless people in my life recently. While I think of blessings such as people allowing me to live in their home (Church's, Hightower's) as BIG blessings and sources of serving, God is starting to reveal to me how I have been able to bless others through relationships and encouragement. I feel like God has given me the gift of listening and encouraging people in their time of discouragement and even though sometimes it's hard to see that as a BIG blessing, I know it is because it is a gift that He gave me to use.
Food for Thought... How can you being a blessing to others in your life right now? Whether it's through relationships or the resources that He has provided you with?
