Receive part 3
I don't really like cupcakes. Even chocolate ones. Shocking, I know. But at work when a kid has a birthday, he or she almost always brings cupcakes. And they usually bring them around the whole school offering them to all of the staff. And I usually politely decline. Because I don't really like cupcakes. But when its a kid that I actually have a relationship with--especially one of our ASD kids--I always take a cupcake. Knowing full well I'm not going to eat it. Because sometimes its important to receive what is being offered. Sometimes it means a lot to someone that they are giving you something. Its that connection. That relationship. They made an effort to reach out. The least you can do is not slap them away. Even when I pass on the cupcake, I make sure to tell the kid happy birthday. It doesn't always take a whole lot to make someone feel special. And if you can do that, you should. Because there's not enough of that in the world. More often it seems like we make others feel small in order to try to make ourselves feel big. And that's not ok. That's certainly not love. But it comes from a place of wanting love, but not feeling like we have it. And if we feel like we don't have it we'll do anything--ANYTHING--to get it. Because we don't just want it. We need it. It is the desire of our hearts. It is the most important thing and the world. And, as I've been trying to illustrate today, love is not about getting. Its about giving. So when someone gives you something, that's almost always an expression of love. You CAN give without loving. But you can't love without giving. So when someone does something for you, just receive it. Thank them. Strengthen that bond. That connection. That relationship. And--I've mentioned that I think we're going to get to releasing next, after receiving but--the best way to receive love is by giving love. Taking a cupcake that you don't really want, but doing it with a smile and a hug. A high five and a "happy birthday." Giving thanks in order to receive what is being giving. We always talk about that "attitude of gratitude" that goes with my favorite Bible verse--"Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17)--but we live a life of "I don't want your charity!" Too much pride. Too much self-righteousness. So even though it makes me feel a little bit uncomfortable when people give me stuff... the bottom line is that charity is love in action, and I'll take as much of that as I can get. I'll receive it. By releasing it. Because God works in mysterious ways... because He works through people. And people can be mysterious. Hard to figure out. Doesn't make a lot of sense. If I know one thing about life, its that life is a mystery. It doesn't go the way you think it will, or the way you think it should. So instead of getting mad every time it doesn't, you oughta be grateful for it. Pray without ceasing, to me, means be thankful for everything. That's my prayer with my kid every night: "Father God, thank you for..." Because He's given us so much. Everything. His heart. His Spirit. His Son. His life. Himself. Everything we could ever need. Love. We need love to survive. To thrive. To live. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. You can't have one without the other. Can't DO one without the other. So just accept it. Receive it. Don't slap the hand that reaches out. Hold the hand. Make a connection. Give what you've got, and receive what you've been given. Live a life of love!