As the week started I was feeling a lot of pressure. We are in a small apartment and have been here for over 2 months. I don't love the apartment, but I like the fact that it has a bed for everyone and that I can cook meals in it and that it was in an affordable range for us. The other really nice factor about where we are is that it is a block from the beach. At any given time I can be on the beach in just a few minutes, which is really nice when the walls of this little apartment are closing in and I need a break from everyone. The problem we were going to have is that our rent was going up by $800 a month. That made our somewhat affordable apartment unaffordable and we were going to have to find a different place to live. So on Wednesday morning, we got all the kids ready and were just about to head out the door to find something new when the apartment manager and his wife knocked on the door. He came to tell us that we could stay and pay the same price for as long as we needed. I told him that we would need to leave in 3 weeks to head back to Missouri for our sons wedding and we would be gone 2 weeks but would be back and he is going to get us back into something when we get back. He told us that we were a good family and that he did not want to lose us, so he talked to his boss and convinced him to let us stay. The manager told me that his wife even talked to their boss and told him that he needed to let us stay. That in and of itself is a big deal because of the culture this couple comes from. So instead of having to move, we have a stable place to live as long as we need until we can get into our own house. We were all so excited and relieved! Jeff was sitting outside talking to one of our neighbors shortly after this and as they were talking we found out that many of them were going to be here for Thanksgiving with nothing really planned. So, we decided to throw a Thanksgiving dinner. We planned what we would have, prepped much of the dinner the night before, Ruthie even made up some cute invites to give out to everyone that morning and on Thanksgiving day we cooked a 20lb Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, rolls, pies, and of course green stuff. We set up our big table upstairs and brought all the food up. Everyone came up, Jeff said a prayer and we ate. I have been hosting Thanksgiving dinner for my family at my house for years. Honestly, I was feeling a bit depressed about not being able to make dinner for anyone. So as we sat down to eat with all of these strange people, it felt a bit weird to not be with my family and share that day with them. As I looked around at all the faces, and the smiles and even laughter that I seen, my heart was overwhelmed. I felt true joy! I even started to feel a little guilty. I wanted to be a blessing to these people and in that moment I felt so blessed and so much joy it just seemed kind of backwards.
Then I remembered this quote a friend shared on her blog:
"Our happiness comes not in the having, but in the handing over. God extravagantly pays back everything we give away and exactly in the currency that is not of this world but the one we yearn for: joy in Him." - Ann Voskamp
Today I am grateful that God provided everything we needed to make it all happen and that he showed me that day what true joy really comes from. Not in what we have but in what we hand out!
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100: 4-5
No comments:
Post a Comment