more on God's generosity

There is another angle to our acceptance of God's generosity and that is we must allow others to do things for us--and not feel guilty about it, not let our pride stand in the way of it happening AND by being very grateful about it. In the process of receiving and of giving, the receiver and the giver have an opportunity to experience the graciousness of God in humble and loving ways.

After I separated from my husband, a dear friend of mine, who knew my situation, wrote me a very kind note, enclosing a $100 gift certificate to the local grocery store. She said she didn't know how else to help me but wanted to do something. It warmed my heart, even though I felt a bit uneasy accepting something so generous from her. I realized I needed to accept it, not necessarily because I needed the monetary assistance (which maybe I did...I wasn't exactly not eating but I had quite a lot of debt I was struggling to pay off at the time) but because it was an opportunity for her to give of herself for the glory of God. She's always told me that she's been very blessed financially and I know she looks for ways to help others. To rob her of that opportunity would not have been right. And, it made me realize that I DID need help in many ways. It became a lesson in humility for me.

We must not let our pride get in the way of others helping us in ways that we really do need because, in those experiences, we allow the Holy Spirit to do His work and we just may be helping others gain heaven as a result.