A few days ago a friend and I were talking and for one reason or another it was mentioned that I slept on an air mattress and had been doing so for about 5 1/2 months. As I was leaving the doctor's office the next day, I received a text message to make a phone call. On the other end of the line was this same friend. She was telling me something I never expected to hear. Hearing me say that I had been sleeping on an air mattress didn't seem to sit well with her. "It really broke my heart to hear you say that because I've been there before." A memory that I won't forget... receiving the unexpected. This friend, in a few short hours, had reached out to many of our coworkers asking for help for a coworker they knew, and soon had enough money and this gift picked out. No words... yes I was still on the phone but quite unsure what to say. So humbling. That feeling of not deserving something yet it is simply given. A friend saw a need, reached out to those around her who know me and I am blessed to call them all my friends. "... You work with amazing people that care about each other. God has a way of getting the important things taken care of ;)" That message locked to my phone. I looked like a hot mess as I drove across town from my doctor's office to work... tears streaming down my face. Today I was blessed with a bed because of some pretty amazing people (a real one... not an air mattress... I've never had a new bed before (that was my own)... my chiropractor would be happy to know I sleep on a bed and not an air mattress. Then again, he'd have to know that I was sleeping on an air mattress to begin with =P).
This whole situation reminds me of the undeserved blessings we have received from another. It reminds me of the unexpected gift that God has given... that gift that is there for anybody to take. A hand extended to anybody willing to reach out and take hold of it. He gives it. It is there. It reminds me of another who didn't have a bed. Instead, the place he was laid was a feeding place for animals. He was God's gift to this world... one that had been talked about (prophesied) but was still somewhat unexpected... a King, the Son of God, born a babe wrapped in strips of cloth and sleeping in a manger. Christ was alive on earth, born to die for mankind... and rise again to bring us new life. That death equates to our life. A gift from God so that we would draw closer to Him... undeservedly so. The purpose of this child, perfection of God presented in the form of man, was to suffer for you and me... for all of mankind... and rise to bring us new life.
A gift, an unexpected version of a King. The expected was to be a King, one of great power, a leader, mighty and strong. This King was one unexpected, a baby born in a stable. A servant to all. He came to serve, not to be served. "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45) He came to love. A gift form God to anybody willing to receive it. A gift is free... that is what gifts are... they are given not earned. Often undeserved. Mostly unexpected. Just as God gave us Christ Jesus... our gift of eternal life... bridging the gap between God and man... our bridge from death to life, from sin to eternity. It started, unexpectedly, with a tiny babe laying in a manger.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."
~*Romans 6:23*~
MY BED!!!!!!!!!!!! =D
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few questions that I feel the need to ask... after writing this it is something that has sat on my heart... if you offer another a gift, would you want them to take it or not? How would you feel if they'd say "No... I won't take it". Think of God. This gift that He offers... the MANY gifts, every blessing, every minute, every second is a gift. He offers love. He doesn't promise that it will be easy... but He offers love and guidance. He offers eternal life. All in the gift of His love and His Son Christ Jesus. He is giving to the undeserving... but He WANTS us to take hold, to take the gift and receive His love. He is waiting patiently, with open arms, for us to receive this unexpected and undeserved gift.
