Give...and then give some more

Quarantine has been hard. The easy parts have been adapting to a new lifestyle and figuring it out, day-by-day. What has been hard is the mental load it has brought onto many people, including myself. Friends and family will call me to chat or seek advice. Some have called in desperate need for encouragement or even to plan a happy hour because they “just need a break from reality.”

Early on in quarantine, I didn’t know if I could handle the emotional mental strain this put on me. Could I be there for all of my friends? What if I snapped and we weren’t friends after after this? What if I didn’t say the right thing and the worst happened? What if I just couldn’t do it anymore, what would people think? What would I think of myself? With doubt rising in my mind and people relying on me, I did the only thing that I knew could provide me the answer, I turned to scripture.

For those that know me, I’m not the Bible-pushing, ultra-Catholic woman. But when things seem too hard or I just need my extra bump in life, it’s the only advice that makes sense, to me. I found what I was looking for in Luke, Chapter 6, Verse 38. “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” This specific story talks about a woman, basically a day away from her death when Elijah asks her to use the last of her flour and oil to make him a loaf of bread. She does. The flour and oil never run out.

This got me thinking about my situation. As long as I have something to give, I have to give. God will make sure that I don’t run out of giving and mental capacity to give to others what they need. And, when I am feeling worn out or discouraged, He will fill me back up and I will be able to give more.

So my challenge for you today is to give. Whether that be monetary, physical, emotional, spiritual…whatever it is, whatever is in need; give. You never know how much of a life you are truly impacting by just lending an ear or giving $5 to someone in need. And trust me, you won't run out of gives. You will be filled back up when it seems like you are empty.