Hanging out with caregivers and church-goers, I am frequently surrounded by people who love to give. Giving is one of the most powerful ways to receive, and sometimes the gifts we get are tangible and life-changing. I received one such blessing over ten years ago when I volunteered to walk a marathon in Amsterdam for the Arthritis Foundation.
To participate, I agreed to raise several thousand dollars and train for the event for six months. While the trip was an amazing blessing for me and my 13 year-old twin daughters who joined me, even more precious was the unexpected gift I got during training. I’ll never forget that first Saturday morning in April when I struck up a conversation with a woman who became my walking partner. Week after week we walked and talked together, discovering that we lived just a mile apart from one another. In the years since then, we’ve become the best of friends. I encouraged her to join Weight Watchers and she trained me to become a Jazzercise instructor. She stood by me when my father died, and I did what I could to support her as she bravely faced and conquered cancer. We meet faithfully to catch up over a glass of wine and frequently text each other with prayer requests and praise reports.
While most of us don’t give to receive, receiving will be the ultimate outcome. Don’t resist these gifts when they come. They may well be the blessing of a lifetime!