It's What We Do - Part 1

Before I go on with this post let me say this: my heart mourns for all of the lives lost in Newtown last week. I have debated all week if I should write a post regarding the event and if so, then what I should say. I have no words. I cannot say anything that you all haven't already felt yourself. I have done so much reading of blogs and opinions and news articles regarding the tragedy and none have given me that peace that we all search for in a time like this. All I can do, all any of us can do, is to lean in to God in this time and remember that He is still God, He is still great and He is still the Almighty. My prayers are with all of the hurting in that community and around the country.

Now - for something a little more uplifting this time of year...

I. Love. Christmas. It’s true, I do. I love everything about it. I love the tradition, spending time with loved ones, the lights and hot chocolate, coming up with the perfect gifts for all the special people in my life, the songs, and of course, more than anything, the perfect reminder of how sweet our salvation in Christ is. I don’t think the thought of my Savior being sent to a fallen and sinful world as a precious child, just so that he can grow up to be mocked and scorned, will ever cease to amaze me. It takes my breath away.

Whether you love Christmas or simply tolerate it, you can’t seem to deny that there is magic in the air. Christmas seems to sweep in and put all the craziness of real life on hold. This year though, I’ve felt that Christmas magic a little more than in years past. People seem to be a little more generous this year, a little more appreciative and a lot more thankful for their loved ones.

One of the items on my oh-so-long bucket list is to provide a full Christmas to a family that may not be able to provide Christmas for themselves. I love being able to do little things for people that are least expecting it, to spread a little Christmas magic each year. This year though, Taylor and I were the ones blessed in a completely unexpected way.

A couple weeks ago we decided that we were in need of a date night. It had been a crazy busy week and we had seen very little of each other so we got all dolled up and headed out. About a month ago we decided to take Dave Ramsey’s budgeting tips and tweak them a little to best fit our lives. We had done such a good job at following our new budget that we thought we would really treat ourselves to a nice date and began making our way to one of our favorite places in Joplin. We eat there very little so it’s always a nice treat when we do.

We got to the restaurant, had NO wait, and really began to enjoy just spending some time together. A few minutes after we had placed our drink order another couple was seated across the corner from us and we quickly realized that we all kind of know each other. The husband and Taylor have worked together through the golf business a few times and his wife and I had met a couple months ago at a work event. We had a really nice time getting to know them better and just enjoying the evening.

When it came time to pay the check Taylor noticed that ours never came. He began to tell the waitress that we never received it and the husband of the couple very nonchalantly told T that he was covering our bill. I was (and still am) blown away! Taylor told him a few different times that he really didn’t need to cover our check, that we had just enjoyed getting to know them, and he replied “not a problem, brother. It’s what we do.” 

It's what we do. What a concept. They expected nothing. They gained nothing. But oh, what a blessing they were. How better would this world be if we all lived by that simple motto. It's what we do. I can't tell you exactly what he meant when he said that simple phrase to us but I can tell you that it has stuck with me and caused me to wonder, what is it that WE do? 

For Taylor and I it boils down to this:

- We share the love and truth of Jesus Christ with all those that we do life with. Whether it be in our actions or our words, we want to make Christ famous.

- We will walk faithfully in whatever direction God calls us.

- We love with everything in us; love each other, our families, our friends, our co-workers and the strangers on the street.

- We give of our plenty because so many in this world have none. We give because Christ first gave to us. We will live within the mindset that God blessed us, not because we are special of deserve it, but so that we can pass that blessing along to others.

The whole way home that night I was practically speechless. No matter how many times I tried I couldn't find the right words to express how truly wonderful what they did was. I told T that night that THAT was my dream, to be able to give freely without concern for our own finances. He smiled and said, "I know it is."

We decided that night that we wanted to give back. I already had hundreds ideas of how and who to pass this little blessing along to. As I went to sleep that night though I began to pray about who it was that HE wanted us to pass HIS blessing along to...

Stay tuned for Part 2 - coming very soon to a blog near you!