Gifts in a Unexpected Package

I was reminded today that sometimes gifts are in the most oddest of places. Like finding a $20 bill in a sketchy parking lot in LA or finding a gift card in the back of a drawer and finding it when you are looking for a bill that you realized you forgot to pay. (come on you know you have all had weird moments like that....they make you smile and feel like you just won the lottery)

Today I went to clean house (one of my side jobs I have currently). On my way there I was already complaining that I wish I was finished and I hadn't even started. I turned on my iPod and listened to this story of a man that had walked through a pretty intense cancer. In the midst of his cancer he learned some things he never thought or imagined he would or could know about himself and God and goodness. He shared how each day there seemed to be a gift in it, but that didn't mean he liked his cancer process. He challenged the listener to have an honest conversation with God, whether you believed in Him or not, and ask God to show you the little gifts He gives. He didn't assume the listener had a relationship with God or assume that they would do what he said simply because he had cancer. It was much more subtle and humble than that.

He, in fact, just told his story which in a weird way left you wanting something else....as if he put salt on your tongue and made you thirsty for more. As I listened to it tears streamed down my face. It had to be a funny sight, me in my work out clothes after a morning jog, cleaning in this obscure house in Redding, with my iPod on and tears streaming down my face as I sprayed windex on window after window. And in that quiet moment I realized something: this was my gift. I dreaded cleaning house, but when you are in need of money you are faithful with what is put in front of you. But in that moment it was not just a means to pay bills, it was a instance that I just wonder if God constructed. Not only does the family pay me WAY MORE than they should, but it created a couple hours of quiet for me to sort through some pretty big stuff going on in my life. And I left the place I dreaded, with a sense of renewed strength and security in who I was, a calmness, a love that wasn't there before and experiencing the goodness of the God of the universe.

Processing life and relationships while in transition is tough...but my wonderful boyfriend reminded me this week in a moment when my character was lacking a bit, that friendship and relationships take work. There are different seasons in a friendship and sometimes we have to give more than we take and some times we have to see beyond the moment and see our friend underneath the current situation they are in. He is an amazingly gracious man that teaches me so much about, not only seeing people's uniqueness, but realizing that there is always more to a story and because of that we need to give people the benefit of the doubt. I am pretty lucky to have a man like him...again sometimes the best gifts come in unexpected packages....a house cleaning job and even a trip to Fiji that might have changed my life forever.