Share your blessings

Source: https://ofhsoupkitchen.org/share-your-blessings

Are you contented with what you have? Is it enough? Do you want more? If you have more, can you share?

Whether its material things or sharing our knowledge to someone, giving cheerfully is a mission we christians are innate with. But how can we continuously give what we have to others even if our glasses are empty. Can we give more than what we have? How can we fulfill God's mission to us? 

I remember the time that my eldest daughter was in the nursery ICU after giving birth in 2008. I was already discharged and my baby was still in the ICU because of observation from possible infections. I did not have money to pay for the ICU expenses since we only prepared for the birth alone and did not expect it to happen to our first child. However, despite this challenge,  I prayed to God and ask for His guidance. I asked God for possible strategies and solutions to my problem. I thought of ways to solve the problem.

Back then, my salary was only 6,000 pesos a month and it can't barely feed my growing family. I needed 10,000 pesos to pay the hospital bills. At that time, I don't have that large amount of money. I thought of listing down my friends who can lend me some money. I know that they are also minimum wage earners, so I thought of the amount that they are willing to lend. I put myself to their shoes, what is the amount that I am willing to give if someone asked me for money. After thinking, 500 pesos was on my mind, because at this amount its okay that a person who borrowed is not pressured to pay right away, and the person who will lend the money will not be pressured because of the small amount. 

So I came up with a strategy, I listed 20 of my friends, who I think is willing to lend 500 pesos to me. If I collect 500 pesos each, I will have 10,000 pesos total. That amount is not that big for them to resist giving me. I started to contact my friends and indeed I was right, every person that I asked really lent me that 500 bill without hesitation. Luckily, I did not need to ask 20 people, I only asked 7 people. Why? Because most of them are willing to lend me more than 500 pesos and told me I do not need to pay them right away. God is good! I thank God for the people who helped me at that time. 

This moment of my life taught me an important lesson. If someone is really in need and if you can offer something , even if it is small, then do not hesitate to help that person. Because for me, at that time and moment, God is using us to be an instrument of blessing to a person who greatly need help. We are tasked by God to be a beacon of hope to someone. 

In 2 Corinthians 9:7 (NASB 1995), Paul says:

"Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

Source: https://www.bible.com/verse-of-the-day/2CO.9.7/49541?version=100

Paul reminds us to always pay it forward. Share your blessing no matter how small it is in monetary terms, because it always counts. The heart of giving is more important than the quantity you offer. It is the thought and love that always count not the physical aspect of it. 

We are blessed. We do not need to desire something that we do not have. But we should be contented of what we already have. Let us share the blessings to others everyday. We should be instruments of God's blessings to other people. God always guards us and send people to us in times of our troubles.  Let us always commit all that we have to the Lord.

Never hesitate. Share your blessings.