“It may not seem that we have much, but when we give from what we have, something sacred happens. God uses the small things that we bring to Him and multiplies them into a miracle in someone else’s life…When you give what you have, even if it’s a minute, God can make a miracle. He can work with very little and turn it into something that no one could have imagined…
When you give away what you have, Jesus will give you more to give. Even if what you have isn’t enough to solve the whole problem, just do what you can in the moment–give it anyway. Trust that God will fill you up with enough to supply the need that’s right in front of you, and assume He will do it again for the next need as well. If you don’t give, you don’t get a chance to see God do a miracle.”
Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon in The Art of Neighboring: Building Genuine Relationships Right Outside Your Door (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2012) 87-89.
My wife is reading this book and shared this quote with me because it sums what we have experienced. God has placed in our hearts the desire to get to know and love our neighbors here at Cattails. We are close with one of them, who moved in after we did, so out of 72 units that leaves 70 on our radar.
As I travel a lot, Jenni has learned the names of many of them, and teaching them to me. Sometimes she shares banana bread, but mostly it’s a smile and 2-5 minutes. Our relationships with our Eagle View friends are still intact because it’s only about 1.5 miles away so we feel like we are getting a double blessing.
So what’s does generosity have to do with our neighborhood?
Ever since we determined to either put to work what we have or give it away, we’ve seen God do miracles one after another. We have not ended up empty. Quite the opposite. We’ve never been more full, because as Pathak and Runyon put it, God supplies or does a miracle. Sometimes those miracles have touched our neighbors, and even drawn them to faith.
Check out this book. Jenni can’t put it down. It’s a primer for fulfilling the great commandment. Do what it says and you too may see miracles happen. That’s what we are learning.