Sometimes--often actually--when I offer assistance or advice or even just a listening ear, I find I am the one who comes away having been ministered to.
When I share ideas and dreams and opinions with others, my own mind is broadened and my opinions and attitudes are usually reshaped and enlarged. I think so many of us are afraid to give away any part of ourselves to another, fearing we will be diminished. I have found, and firmly believe, that it is in the giving of self to others that we are actually nourished, sustained, enhanced and empowered.
When we recognize that everthing is God's - from Him and for His purpose - it is easier and less risky to share what we have--our possessions, our wisdom and knowledge, our gifts and abilities. Yes, we may get hurt in the process. We may be misunderstood or taken advantage of. Worse . . . we may be thought a fool or considered naive! But in the end we have no choice, because nothing is ours to begin with!
The trick is to find our purpose and to release our sense of self-importance or significance beyond the One through whom and from whom we are significant. The trick is to find what theologian Frederick Buechner describes as vocation: "where our greatest joy meets the world's greatest need."
That's the sweetest place to be in the end. It is when I find myself there that I am the most joyful, peaceful, free. Where is that place for you, in your life?
Blessings on your journey,
Mary
When I share ideas and dreams and opinions with others, my own mind is broadened and my opinions and attitudes are usually reshaped and enlarged. I think so many of us are afraid to give away any part of ourselves to another, fearing we will be diminished. I have found, and firmly believe, that it is in the giving of self to others that we are actually nourished, sustained, enhanced and empowered.
When we recognize that everthing is God's - from Him and for His purpose - it is easier and less risky to share what we have--our possessions, our wisdom and knowledge, our gifts and abilities. Yes, we may get hurt in the process. We may be misunderstood or taken advantage of. Worse . . . we may be thought a fool or considered naive! But in the end we have no choice, because nothing is ours to begin with!The trick is to find our purpose and to release our sense of self-importance or significance beyond the One through whom and from whom we are significant. The trick is to find what theologian Frederick Buechner describes as vocation: "where our greatest joy meets the world's greatest need."
That's the sweetest place to be in the end. It is when I find myself there that I am the most joyful, peaceful, free. Where is that place for you, in your life?
Blessings on your journey,
Mary
