Dun dun dun….. Drum roll please…
My year long challenge.
Something that I have prayed about and God stirred my heart towards through a seemingly “random” event of watching Julie and Julia. And as silly as it may be, God still speaks to me through things like movies. I can feel Him move my heart. And He did in this.
So, here is my challenge to myself for one year, that will begin on my 24th birthday, May 30, 2012, and will go until May 30th, 2013, my 25th birthday.
For one year, 365 days, I will give away something every single day. It could be something that I already have, something that I made, or something I bought. The first two are more what I want this challenge to be about, and what I will be more intentional on, because I want it to be personal. Buying something could be like buying a strange a cup of coffee, or groceries, or what not.
The 24th year of my life is going to be marked by giving. Letting go of my tight grip on “my” things, because they were never really mine to begin with. Emptying myself so that Christ can move in and through me.
I have always struggled with giving. It's like one of those things that you love the idea of it, but when it comes down to the fact, it's a bit difficult to actually do. Works better in theory in your mind than in real life.
This challenge is a bit different than that of Julie and Julia. More broad, almost. You can take giving in so many different directions. Time, money, things, words, etc. Giving someone a hand made card or a piece of hand made jewelry. Giving a prophetic picture or writing out a word of encouragement. Giving a gift of support for a missionary, a church, or a special cause. Putting together a fundraiser to bless an organization or collecting Christmas gifts to bless a family during the holidays. Giving someone a treasured possession. Giving an organization a donation of clothes. Giving a family a dinner, or preparing a meal for a group of people. Giving a waitress a card saying “thank you” with a generous tip. Giving someone flowers.
It just has to be an intentional act of giving. Something that has meaning, has thought. Not just a random toss of the hat and giving away something that I don't want anyway. The point of this is to let go and let God. To usher in His presence. To give like I have never given before and experience the freedom and joy that comes with giving and with generosity. Living with open hands.
It will be random acts of kindness. Giving, maybe even in secret. Someone may never know that I was the one to give them that particular gift. But, it's truly God after all. Not me.
In all honesty, this is going to be extremely difficult for me. There will be days where I feel like crap and I don't want to give anything. I know that Satan will attack me and throw selfishness into my face. He will try to tell me that I need to keep it for myself, that I can't afford to give anything away.
But I am going to fight it. I will open my clenched hands and experience the blessing of being a blessing. That is what I am called to anyway…blessed to be a blessing.
I am blessed SO THAT I can be a blessing.
I am not blessed so that I can hoard it and be selfish. There is no freedom in that. There is fear and greed in that, not love and freedom.
So here goes nothing. In less than 100 days I will begin my own challenge. A challenge to GIVE. To open my hands and let go, and let Christ pour out. Because this life is not my own, and it's not for me or my glory, but all for His.
