The Blessing of Giving

The past 2 days we have had the opportunity to give and serve others. It's really been a blessing! My parents have been struggling financially for 2 years now due to my Daddy being out of work because of his severe pain. He is a carpenter by trade and has done it for almost 25 years. He has pain in all over and in his stomach. The Doctors guess it's rheumatiod arthritis,but they aren't sure. They recenly found out the mesh that is in him due to a surgery may be under recall and that could be the root of his pain. He worked as long as he could,but some days it's all he can do to walk. My Momma works at Wal-Mart so her income is not the best. Needless to say they have had a very hard time financially for the most part. Yesterday we went to visit and decided to leave the boys with them and go to Wal-Mart and buy them some groceries. This felt amazing! We have been struggling financially too since November when something happened that was beyond our control,so it felt wonderful to be able to help them. My Daddy still has a lot of pride when it comes to people helping financially,especially his own children,but he is getting better. Please lift them both up in prayer. We are believing for his healing! My Mother also has some problems with her stomach. Her esaphagus is very narrow and they stretched it last year. Since it's so narrow it has caused a lot of bacteria in her stomach. They've been trying to go through a process to fix it,so pray for her too. They are such strong people really. I know it has a lot to do with their struggle,they have grown and still are growing through their struggles.

We had another opportunity to serve today. We found out that one of the people in our building lost his wife yesterday morning to cancer. We knew she was sick,but since we were gone all day we had no idea she had passed away. Our next door neighbor told us earlier. So we decided to fix a small meal for him. We visited them once right before they found the cancer in Mrs. Mona. Mr. Joe is from Washington and she is from Southeast Mississippi (not far from our hometown). They never had children and they have no living relatives. He was in the military,so he and my husband got along well (my husband is a State Trooper). I could not imagine not having any living family. We didn't visit much because soon after she got sick and well I didn't want to bother her with the noise (my son haha). He also has cancer and it was hard on them. So when my husband could he would do things for them. I heated up the brisket we had earlier,fixed some green beans,and 2 baked potatoes for him. It wasn't much,but we wanted to do something. It once again felt awesome to serve someone. I believe it is something God put in women,but has been robbed from them throughout the years. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart,so let him give; not grudgingly, or out of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. II Corinthians 9:7

It is really amazing the joy that comes from giving. I want to teach this to my boys and for them to know from experience how good it feels to give to others and not expect something in return. If you haven't tried giving,give it a try! You will not be let down!
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