We all know it, we all say it: “it is better/more blessed to give than to receive”.
But how often do we practice it?
My 2 year old got to practice this fine art of giving this morning alongside her wonderful daddy.
During our 4th community outreach/service project in Alma, we bundled up and gathered once again at the trailer park we have “taken on” as our ministry focus.
Heading out, we were armed with envelopes that contained $10 grocery certificates and little cards that simply state:
U R &{picture of a knot} 4 GOT 10
J <3 U
Get it? “You Are Not Forgotten”.
That is our heart. Simply that they would know that they haven’t been forgotten, by God, and by a bunch of misfits who are taking on their trailer park.
While the plan had been to break up into our usual 3 groups and canvas the park, by the time we arrived in Alma, Aiden was hungry.
A hungry boy + 22* weather = very unhappy boy.
So while I stayed in the car and nursed him, Joe took Ali and their bundle of envelopes and headed out.
Oh how it blesses a mother’s heart to see her child holding out an envelope to a stranger on their doorstep while sweetly saying “Merry Christmas, Happy New Year”. Joe would introduce himself and Ali, and explain that they were simply wanting to bless people with some post-Christmas gifts. No strings attached. No church advertisement. No preachy tracts. Just a reminder of Christ’s love.
What an important lesson to learn at such a tender age.
We’re learning just how much our children mirror us, our attitudes about life and people and situations. They grow to love what we love, treasure what we treasure, and shun what we shun.
What are we teaching her, without even meaning to? What intricate life lessons is she learning by simply watching us function on a daily basis? What are we showing her to hold dear by making a priority in our own lives? What are we setting as a standard in the way she sees others…in how she views herself…in how she thinks about God?
And sometimes what we see, and hear, in them is scary.
Alathea will repeat, days after the fact, phrases that we have said with the exact intonation we used. It’s a little odd when she sternly tells me not to touch her drink {in her spill-proof sippy-cup} because I’ll spill it. Or when I see her scolding her baby dolls non-stop, putting them in time-outs and then spanking the snot out of them {no really, we don’t do that. Spank, we do…when it fits the crime, but beat the ^%@& out of her, we don’t}. Does she really see our discipline of her that way? Or when she repeats to her cousin what we’ve said to her, in a very unkind fashion. “Don’t touch that…don’t do that!!”. Did we really say it like that? And gosh, does it really matter? Sometimes we just don’t pick our battles very well…and then we see them showing up in her later.
Scary, yes, but also incredibly exciting. What an opportunity we have to impact this little life, which will in turn impact the many lives around her {no doubt, in profound ways}.
I’m trying to use this reality as a powerful reminder to “hold my thoughts captive”. Because my thoughts profoundly impact my actions and words, and seeing the way those impact my daughter’s behavior, I need to be ever so careful with what I allow to occupy my mind. I want to be the kind of woman that I desire my daughter to be one day – and apart from the grace of God, it’s up to me {us} to build that foundation in her.
Today was a sweet reminder of this truth. When I reach out to others, no matter their walk of life, no matter their financial or social status, I show my children that loving on people is far more important than fearfully {and selfishly} fending for ourselves. We pay it forward. In doing this, we also set her up to see the way God blesses and provides for us in the process. It’s a beautiful cycle, and how blessed she will be to see it from a young age.
This is one of the greatest gifts my parents gave me and I can’t wait to pass it on.
Looking back I can clearly see the impact their example has had on my adult, married life. Whenever Joe and I have been in a tight spot, especially financially, it has {usually} been pretty easy for me to declare, “don’t worry…God will provide!! He always does!”, simply because I saw Him do it, over and over again, when I was a child and young adult!
I want that faith and joy and peace for my children too. And it starts with the realization that it is our job to be generous with the little God has given us; that it is indeed better to give than to receive. When we make it our passion to love on others and bless them…God faithfully provides for us and blesses us even more abundantly than we could have ever imagined.
We have tasted of that so richly this past month. Crazy generosity being poured out over here!
When we got home from our ‘outreach’ in Alma this afternoon, while I was unbuckling her from her carseat, Ali tenderly touched my face and said “you’re precious, mommy”. I just melted.
Oh, how I adore that girl!
I am so incredibly thankful that God is helping us navigate this rocky road of parenthood, and that as long as our eyes are fixed on Him, their little eyes constantly being on us isn’t such a scary thing after all.
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