Our bucket is filled today. But, it’s being emptied regularly.
Earlier this summer, a big, heavy box arrived at our doorstep. In it, we found this.
It was sent by our hutong, about a dozen families who have made a commitment to us, to having our backs, to praying for us, to loving us for us not just what we do. They’re our people.
There enclosed detailed instructions:
This glass jar is filled with a year’s worth of love and encouragement from families in your hutong. Each day you have two choices: Take out one slip of encouragement, read it, and slip it on the large ring. OR Take out two Hershey’s kisses – one for each of you – so that as you eat them you are reminded of the hugs we would all like to give you if we were all local.
As you go through the year, reading the slips of paper and adding them to the ring, you will be making a ring of encouragement. At the end of the year, once all the slips of paper are on the ring, you will be able to read through the notes of encouragement again and again.
We haven’t followed their instructions exactly. There have been days we haven’t opened the jar at all; some days, just walking past it where it rests in our living room has been enough. Other days, I confess that we had some kisses and read three or four slips of paper because that’s just how much was needed.
Remember that “green pastures” rarely look or feel as abundant as we wish or expect
When Satan tells you his lies, meet them with the Truth.
We are in awe of how God has blessed your steps of faith!
Still other days, we were just too wrapped up in our own stuff to even go there. We knew we needed what was in that jar, but we couldn’t accept it. Those are the days that the battle within us is most fierce, the days we feel the most poured out, the days we most need our hutong to hold our arms up so that we know we may feel alone but we are actually surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.
We don’t deserve it. But, man, we are so thankful we have it. We are learning how to receive. And, they are giving us plenty of practice.
