Daily Meditation: "What We're Given" -- Monday, August 10, 2020

SCRIPTURE

"For God so loved the world, that God gave..." - John 3:16

REFLECT

I mentioned yesterday that we're going to be doing our Stewardship Campaign to raise the monies for next year's budget virtually this year. As we begin to think about what we can give during this year's efforts, I invite us to begin by first considering what we have been given.

The act of giving is (or should be), at its heart, an act of love and gratitude. Yesterday was Ryan's 15th birthday, and whenever we reflect on the day he was born we always say that we were given the greatest of gifts (until Cooper came along, of course). When we give the boys gifts, they are truly rooted in our love for them and gratitude for the gift that they are to us.

God bestows gifts upon us all the time, each and every day: our families, our friends, the beauty of creation, and all that is within it. And most certainly, our communities of faith are a gift we are given as well; especially when living in and with this creation becomes challenging. We have moved through and continue to move through profoundly challenging times, and our particular family of faith has moved through simultaneous challenges these past months with grace and with love. We have been an amazing gift in FCCWP.

Can you imagine what it would be like going through this pandemic without our church family and all the ways we are connecting and reaching out to one another? What would these past months have been like without the daily meditations, the worship videos, the Bible studies, VBS, the daily Zoom classes, the ongoing work of our church, the conversations, the sharing, the bonding, the support, and the love?

We are abundantly blessed by the gift of our church in these times, and our church will continue to be there for us as we move forward through whatever lies ahead of us. As we consider what we can give, let us first consider what we have been given, and respond with love for God's blessings.

PRAYER

God of Blessing, we thank you for all of the ways you love us so much that you give to us so selflessly. As we are able, may we do all we can to honor your love with praise and offerings of our own in our living and our giving back in gratitude for all we have freely received.