Gifts come in many packages and are things that just about everyone enjoys - unless your name is Scrouge. While this is a true statement, there are those times when you obtain a gift that you could have done without or are left wondering, why would they buy/give me that. Of course there are times when you obtain a gift that someone else had to force on you because you did not see it as being a gift.
When it was time for me to select another college, my mother insisted I give a Christian college a chance. I had every legit argument in the book for refusing the gift that she was proposing. Not only could we not afford the tuition on a single mother's salary but the school was in Alabama and I had never been to Alabama but had heard enough negative stories to fill a barn with. The final word came down to my mother being a parent, making a tough decision, believing it was the correct thing for me and telling me my flight left in a month - so I had better start saying goodbye!
Aaaaggggghhhhh, are you kidding mom?! I mean did you not hear the part where I said we could not afford for both me and my brother to be in college on a single parent salary? Ok you could have missed that, but what about the part where I said I was AFRAID of going to Alabama? Through it all my mother maintained her faith saying - 'this is a good opportunity for you and God will make a way'. I would quip, yeah He might but how does He do it at a $12,000/year school and I only have $400 paid with no way of paying the remaining $11,600?
Long story short, I was able to get registered with a combination of grants, loans and a work program. This in itself was a gift that I could have never seen coming, it was the gift of Faith building. Me being able to see first hand how God took a situation I thought was all but impossible to fix and FIXED IT! This gift continues to pay dividends to this day, not only did I meet Christ at this school but I became focused & worked hard because I knew what a sacrifice this was. My mom was right, the school was good for me and God did make a way. I realize that one could right this off as coincidental, but you would be mistaken because it took divine intervention for me find the funds and get registered for school in ~3 days - otherwise it was back on a plane to California.
So often we are in such a hurry to open the gift and get to the 'good stuff', we miss being able to savor and enjoy the experience of slowly opening the gift and starting to use it. I am grateful that I was at a place in my life where I could enjoy the difficult experiences of not only trying to register for school but make my mom proud and earn my degree in Chemistry. Some of the stories I had heard about Alabama where true but there was soo much more to this state and its people. Being in Alabama allowed me to find out who I was, what I was about and see what my reaction would be in difficult situations. This gift saved my life and now provides a key building block I use in raising our sons.
Is there a gift disguised as work that you are fighting? Is the main driver fear?
Proverbs 18:16 - A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.
Blessings,
-d
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