Author Ann Voskamp opens the concluding section of Chapter 10 of One Thousand Gifts with the following poem:
“Christian hands never clasp
and He doesn’t give gifts for gain
because a gift can never stop being a gift-
it is always meant to be given.”
Reflecting on the astonishing truth that while we serve Christ He at the same time is serving us, Ann’s family read the following words of Isaiah 58 every day for a month:
“And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.”- Isaiah 58:10-11
Adversity presents a unique, singular opportunity for our very presence in the lives of others to evidence that we are beloved of God. As we become the love of God, we bless those He loves. Ann concludes by citing the words of Rabindranath Tasgore, as quoted in John Shea’s The Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers:
“I slept and dreamt life was joy. I awoke and saw life was service. I acted and, behold, service was joy.”
NOTE: new Short Meditation, “Once Upon a Time”, will post Friday, February 1st.