Pay it Forward~

Every once in a while I receive a surprise blessing.  Today I will share with you what someone shared with me yesterday in the late afternoon. 

 

A colleague came in to say that while at a restaurant with his family--a party of nine total--a complete stranger came up to him, told him he had a beautiful family, and that he was going to pay the $500+ dinner tab.  The generous stranger simply said, "Pay it forward."

 

I love the idea that my colleague came up with.  He instructed each of his kids to think about a good cause they could donate to in honor of the kind gesture they all received.  I will keep you posted as they have a week to think it over.

 

This concept of "pay it forward" is actually biblical.

 

2 Corinthians 1:4-5 (The Message) "He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, He brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us."

 

One of the purposes for that inexplicable difficulty you went through was so that you could share the comfort you received in the middle of it.  

 

Think about a time you were going through some struggles. Think about how God brought you out of it.  Then be willing to pay it forward.  The world can not work if we never give.  If you never made a phone call, or visited someone who was ill, or wrote a little note of encouragement, or sent flowers, or invited someone to the movies, or prayed for someone, or even made an anonymous cash donation, you would miss out on a blessing and so would someone else.

 

Where would you be today if no one had ever reached out to you?  I just might still be holed up in a corner somewhere feeling miserable and scratching my ankles.  You get the idea.  Glory!

 

PRAYER:

Dear Lord,

We are grateful for the times others have comforted us; they were sent by You to really make a difference in our lives.  We are committed to doing the same for others.  Thank You that You will bring the right people our way; we will pay it forward.  In Jesus, name, AMEN~