Sometimes our neighbor is the person who lives across the street. Sometimes it’s the guy who sits in front of you in class because your last names start with the same letter. And sometimes it is the woman who sits near you in the young married class at church.

Generosity points to Jesus

We often don’t realize when we are being neighborly in the midst of our weekly rhythms. And then there are times when caring for another person makes them a recipient of a grace so big it resembles arrows pointing to God himself.

I have learned to not take neighbors for granted. I have also seen a lavish amount of graciousness poured out to me when I could never return the favor or pay it forward. And that is what I am most grateful for: the sheer gift of community and self-forgetfulness that has pointed me to a gracious God through someone else’s deep sacrifice and kindness.

The time I couldn’t pay it forward

One of the most humbling experiences I can recall is being given the gift of time that was turned into a paycheck for me. This happened during a long season where I could not work due to high stress. My friend Laura, who I met in the young married class of our southern church, offered to take my 9 – 5 job as a church front desk receptionist when my husband at the time was in the ICU.

Days turned into weeks which turned into months and Laura sat at my desk, in my chair, and gracefully did my job. This in itself was an answer to my prayer for time to spend with my critically injured husband. But the gift kept getting bigger and deeper. Laura never saw a paycheck. Paychecks that should have been sent to her were routed to my bank account instead, along with my health insurance status being in a continued state of coverage. It was like she was me.

Laura may not have felt invisible and has always played this season down as the perfect time to help a friend and her home church. But I can hardly think about this gift without tearing up, even many, many years later. It remains one of the biggest gifts I have received for so many reasons. Laura not only met a huge need, but she helped shape my view of generosity. The overflowing gratitude I have and still feel for her selflessness has impacted my life in profound ways.

We never know when God will call us to bring a loaf of fresh bread to a neighbor or when He will call us to work forty hours a week for another person who simply cannot function due to some kind of suffering in their life. What we might view as the right thing to do or doing it as unto the Lord can mean the world to someone else. We get to be a part of someone feeling overwhelming gratitude when we do big and little things in this earthly kingdom. We get to show another person the kindness of God.

Instead of being sad that I could never pay it forward in this capacity, I have chosen to be grateful for the label of recipient in this case. I remain in complete wonder at how God uses one person to show another His magnificent love and care. 

A blessing for each of you

May we be generous givers.

May we be humble receivers.

May we hold hands open in awe of a God who loves us.

With glimpses of Himself shining through the kindness of another, may we be a vehicle of gratitude for each other.

Meet Jodi Grubbs

Where to find her . . .

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• Website

Begin Within is a series to inspire a year-round lifestyle of gratitude that will impact not only your own life, but the lives of your neighbors as well. Gratitude is a theme we talk about often around here because it ties so closely into other missional living rhythms. Practicing gratitude reminds to keep our hearts soft and expectant and our eyes open. Therefore, the more we embrace gratitude, the easier it becomes to truly see our neighbors and where we can join what God is already doing in our neighborhoods.

If you would like to contribute to Begin Within, you can find the submission guidelines here.

Creating Ripples

If you would like to cultivate rhythms in addition to gratitude that will empower you live on mission in your neighborhood, check out Cultivating a Missional Life: A 30-Day Devotional to Gently Help You Open Your Heart, Home, and Life to Your Neighbors. This small book will help you make a big impact in your neighborhood as you learn to let missional living flow from the inside out. Get the 30-day missional living challenge free when you purchase the book.