30 Days of Giving: Day 5

Everyone knows that November is "Thanksgiving Month." This is the time of year when we especially remember to praise the Lord for all of his blessings.

A short while back, I Corinthians 15:10 struck me as an extension of that focus on thanksgiving. The verse says, "But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I but the grace of God which was with me." The grace, or the extra blessings from the Lord,should be passed on to those around us, so that it is not in vain. Boy, do I have my work cut out for me! If anyone has seen the grace of God, I have. God has been so good to me!

When my sister told me of her idea of giving to someone else every day in November (Thirty Day Challenge!), it was as if God was showing me how to apply my newfound knowledge about passing on His grace. So, I took the challenge.

Here is an excerpt from my journaling about this challenge:

Nov. 5th-It happens every time, and every time it is so amazing! Giving does something special for a person. Yesterday, my day ended with a little disappointment, my throat hurt (agh! Was this the beginnings of the H1N1 flu that everyone has been getting?), and I just felt lousy. Just as I was about to shut myself up in my room for the evening, with a cup of hot tea and a book, I remembered that Plan A for giving to someone had not worked out.

So, I had to implement Plan B. I had been wanting to take some pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, [made them myself (shocking, I know)], to my neighbors. So, four plates were made, and I began walking them over. The ladies at the first three houses were glad for the muffins. I think it shocked them a bit, though. While we are friendly with each other, they know that I am an active member of my Baptist church (Horror of all horrors!). The Mormons have this amazing way of being terribly nice in an icy, “you’re-not-of-our--Mormon-faith” sort of way.

With the fourth plate, I went to meet a neighbor who lives several houses down. She is probably in her late fifties or sixties, but she was out raking the leaves. Meeting her was very nice. Her first words were, “Where do you live again? Ok, I’ll be sure to get your dish back to ya!” Mmm…I have a new friend…Marilyn! And, once again, I have rediscovered the cure-all for any time that feeling of “I feel lousy,” comes along! Do for someone else!