Making a difference through the act of receiving.........................

One of my residents has visual impairments so when she receives mail I read it out loud to her. Yesterday, she got a newsletter from her church. In one section it was talking about a workshop they are having to uncover the spiritual gifts of the congregation so that they might take an inventory of these gifts that can then be utilized to assist the congregation, the community, and the world.

My resident has a hard time getting out so she won't be attending the workshop. I ask her what she felt her spiritual gifts were and without hesitation she told me she felt she had a gift for praying. I offered to help her compose a letter to the pastor so she might be put on the inventory list of member's gifts.

As we were working on the letter it occurred to me that she had another really great gift to contribute. That is the gift of being a gracious receiver of those people that have a gift of service in the form of visiting the housebound. This might sound strange but trust me, not everyone is happy to be visited by a "service" visitor. It is hard for lots of us to receive if we have spent most of our lives focusing on being a giver. If one used to be on the visiting the housebound side and finds themselves no longer able to do so it can be a major cause of depression and and cause one to turn away from interacting with others. Not only is my resident happy to receive visitors she is great at conveying her gratitude for the smallest of things. This translates into the giver feeling really blessed by their act of service. A win/win situation if ever there was one.

As a society we focus on the doing/giving. We have Make a Difference Day, and more volunteer programs than one can count. Don't get me wrong, I think these programs are needed to encourage and coordinate the services, I just think that as we are participating in them we need to remember not to lose sight as to the fact that it is not always easy to receive. If a string of unfortunate circumstances places you in financial need when you have always managed to take care of yourself it will be hard to walk into that food bank or shelter. Remember to pay honor to the person that is providing you the opportunity to serve, as well as the rewards that you will receive through serving.