The Circle of Giving

You know, God works in mysterious ways. That's about all I can say right now. It's been a tough year for several reasons, but through it all, we've managed to get by just fine. As I've been exhorting over the past few posts, Christmas is a time for giving, and my family lived that motto by going the extra mile and giving to someone who we knew needed extra help this year. Instead of giving to us or getting extra gifts for the children, we thought that it would be best to spend whatever extra we could afford to give someone something a little special, especially when that person needed it.

The truth is, when you give, God, I believe, takes care of you. Today, when I went to our mailbox (I forgot to get the mail on Christmas Eve), there was a letter simply addressed "Mark & Sherry" with a bow on it. Someone had put it in our box. Inside that envelope was a very touching letter with gift cards in it for groceries, gas, and a restaurant. No name other than Santa Claus, no address, no idea who gave it to us. It was a gift from an angel though, and, for us, it came at the right time.

The only reason I'm writing about this is that we almost over-extended ourselves on giving to the person who we gave to, plus what we gave at Church on Christmas Eve for the poor. I'm not saying that at all to make us look good. We did what was right to do. The point is, though, that God, in His infinite wisdom, took care of us too. Those gift cards provided us what we needed during these times, and it was a great gift for us to get.

The whole message that I'm trying to convey here is that giving is a circle. When you give, you receive. When you give from the heart, that is. I do believe that God will take care of those who truly give from the heart, and He proved it in our case. All of those things that I exhorted prior to Christmas came true from the giving and receiving side. To me, and I believe that I speak for Sherry too, that is what God is all about. Taking care of each other.

We are truly blessed.