It started off being a comfortable day, until about 1 p.m. when my preferred pace of snail was disrupted because I remembered I'd signed up to take food to a family today. This family had just celebrated the arrival of their first child. They needed food.
When I had my first born, it was a fog of confusion and worry that kept me in my pajamas most of the day. There was no way I could cook, much less brush my teeth. Thankfully our church has a ministry for new moms, and they brought us food for a few weeks. In a flood of gratitude, I signed up for the ministry as soon as I could find my way back to pants with buttons on them.
"But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth." 1 John 3:17-18
It's one thing to offer to serve someone food when you have a personal gourmet chef and unlimited resources. It's another thing when your culinary skills are...forced. I am not much of a cook. I have extremely high standards and an aversion to raw meat. I don't like vegetables much either, and if I had remained single, I'm pretty sure I would be eating spaghetti every night; noodles don't gross me out.
I settled on BBQ'ed chicken, salad, and baked potatoes. It didn't seem like it was grand enough, you know? I wanted to send them king crab legs (no idea how to make those) on a sliver platter. Stressed to the max, I was searching desperately for a lid to match my Tupperware container (lost cause), and I realized that I don't think my food is good enough for them, and they'll discover I'm average at best. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the reasons why people don't serve their neighbors.
Do I want people to look at me and see humble chicken and taters?
Noooooo. Not good enough.
As I stood, stressed in my kitchen, I realized I am not okay with being a person that tries, but might end up giving you over-cooked potatoes. I'm not okay with being someone who sends mismatched Tupperware. I'm too afraid of being mediocre to help out.
"The sin of ingratitude is one of our most wicked rebellions" -Robert Barnes
I'm afraid that what I have to offer doesn't line up with my outer celebrity, but really, all I have to offer is what God has given me, right? Sometimes being grateful for what you have takes bravery and stepping outside of your comfortable fantasy life of caviar and servants, but when you decide to be grateful it becomes easier to serve others. And people need you to love on them. And that's what God is all about.
"Freely you have received, freely give." - Matt 10:8b
Today's gift is stepping out of comfort zones to serve others, and being grateful that I can do it...with the help of a cute husband to do the grilling (thereby allowing me to pass on the raw-meat-touching phase of the meal. I know, I'm a huge baby).
Today I'm linking up with Chatting at the Sky to unwrap the gift of today. Click below to find more people who look for presents in the ordinary (and in my case: boring, raw chicken).
