Helping part 4
The key is having empathy. Walking a mile in someone else's shoes. Being patient enough to take the time to understand what would actually help, in a given situation. And watch this: For a while now I've been really coming to understand the idea of "blessed to be a blessing." The idea of living out of our abundance. Giving what we've got instead of always trying to get something. The idea of receiving and releasing... but actually receiving BY releasing. Let me quote some Scripture, "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others" (Philippians 2:4). Its like how the key to happiness is making other people happy. I'll never forget one time when I gave someone a pretty big financial gift so that they could go see their first grandbaby being born. The look on their face... literally priceless. Making them happy made me REALLY happy. I was able to help, and that has stuck with me. The power of giving. The power of love. I always say I don't want nothing from nobody. And part of that IS me protecting myself from the pain of being let down. But a bigger part of that is me knowing (and believing) that I already have everything I need. My heavenly Father, my Daddy, already gave it to me. So I'm good. I'm covered. And, yes, I believe God works through people. So when people give me stuff, I don't turn it down. I accept things. Sometimes I even accept things I don't necessarily want, because I understand the importance of it. Sometimes, if someone wants to give you something, its important to THEM that you receive it. So just be gracious. Always Be Kind. Think of others instead of yourself all the time. Its hard to reach a hand out. Hard to ask for help. Hard to put yourself out there. And if someone reaches a hand out, and you slap it away... think about how much harder it will be for them to ever reach out again. Its not all about you. Its all about all of us. We are all important. Remember where we left off yesterday? About how Jesus didn't come to condemn the world? But to save it? We can save each other by not condemning each other. By looking on the things of others. Doing what THEY need, instead of always worrying about what WE need. And here's the best part: If I look after you, and you look after me, neither one of us NEEDS to look after ourselves. Because we've got each other covered. I tell my son, Logan, almost every day that my favorite part of our relationship is that we always have each other's backs. Because in that kid's opinion... its ok for HIM to get one over on me, but he surely isn't going to let anyone else get one over on me. Now, what if we all treated each other that way? What if we all protected each other. "Not on my watch." But it seems like we're so self-centered sometimes that we're willing to knock someone else down just so we can feel bigger. It seems like our first priority is to help ourselves. But when you help yourself at someone else's expense, you really aren't helping anybody. You're hurting everybody. So I guess what I'm trying to say--what's heavy on my heart today--is that we help ourselves by helping others. That's it. And its that simple. When we love each other, when we lay our lives down for each other, that's when (and how) we truly experience this abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love. When we give what we've got, we experience what we've got. And what we've got... is love!