Blessed to be a Blessing

This past weekend, we at B2B Mexico had the opportunity to minister to a family that attends our Church- they have 8 kids and the husband has been out of work for some time now. They called the church asking for help and the church mentioned us and that we might be able to help with clothes and food needs. At first when I heard about this, I'll admit that I thought pessimistic things like, "we have a hard enough time as it is trying to pay the bills for the teens in the Hope Program and make sure they have enough food- why would WE have food for this family?!?" and doubting statements like, "oh goodness! Winter is approaching and the needs for winter clothes are going to be high this year, I dont have much to offer from the donation room." blah blah and so my thoughts continued. But the family was scheduled to come anyways so I put together some bags with toiletries and school supplies and Matt sent an email out to all our staff about their need for food. And much to my surprise, a TON of food was collected from our teen homes and families here for this family of 10. I was honestly shocked at the amount we collected. And I was hit over the head with the realization that God has placed us here in a position of abundance and we do HAVE ENOUGH- sometimes it might not seem like it, especially to those teen home parents struggling to feed football teams of teens under a strict budget but it's true- we had the ability to be generous because God enabled us to be.

I was reminded of the message to the early believers in 2 Corinthians 9:11 -- "You will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God."

Being in charge of our donations here in Mexico always reminds me to be thankful. This summer, we received a lot of soccer cleats as donations. I saved them and hid them away knowing that 2 children's homes in particular would be incredibly grateful for them in the fall when they start playing "organized" soccer with several B2B staff members like the great JJ Lail who is honestly just a rock start at Casa Hogar Douglas. Thank you to everyone who donated cleats- the kids LOVE them and feel sooo cool in their cleats and wear them every tuesday and thursday afternoon for soccer. Back2Back is blessed through the amazing donations we receive and so are the kids we serve.

I just can't stop thinking about thankfulness- I personally have a lot to be thankful for. All 4 of my grandparents are still alive and are such a huge part of my life. I LOVE spending time with both of my brothers and there were years when we were younger that I would have said the exact opposite. My mom survived a very rare cancerous tumor 5 years ago that went through her heart and I cannot begin to tell you how incredibly thankful I am for the past 5 years of health and earthly living my mom has seen. This past August, I was overcome with the realization that my friends from UF are some of the greatest and most amazing saints on the planet. Many crowns await these people in Heaven and I'm honored and blessed and encouraged to call them friends. I grew up in a nation where no matter who you are or how poor you might think you are, no matter your birth parents, no matter your gender or race- you can get a great education and get loans and scholarships to make college a reality. Few countries can say the same and Mexico is sadly not one of them- they are improving though so give them some credit.

And then I read this in my Beth Moore study on the life and ministry of Paul: "The very thing Christ finished we can't seem to leave alone; and the very thing He hasn't finished, we try to halt. The work of Calvary is finished. No more payment for sin is necessary. He did it all by Himself on the cross. We can't earn it. WE CAN'T ADD TO IT. IT IS FINISHED. Yet we try to add our good works to his Salvation.

However, the work He is doing on everyone who has accepted Christ as Savior is not finished. Salvation is finished. Sanctification is not. Completion is not. Philippians 1:6 promises that "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Yet we wish He'd stop picking on us the moment we're saved and let us be the boss. Like the Pharisees, we wish He'd stop interfering. Give this some consideration: sometimes more effort is required to keep rolling the stone back over the tomb (put Jesus "away" or ignore him) than simply to cooperate with the work He seeks to finish in us.

Do we just want the cross without the resurrection? Are we trying to stuff the living, working Christ back into the tomb so He'll just save us, and then let us alone? Or do we want to know "the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings?" Thank you Beth Moore. I think in many ways, my pride doesn't allow me to acknowledge that I had no role in earning my salvation -- Christ did it ALL. This is a daily reminder to let go and thank God. He's done it. It's over.