Giving and Receiving

I've learned a lot about giving and receiving this summer. Mostly receiving. Without going into a lot of detail this has been the toughest summer of our married life. Things were going smoothly and then the cart was turned over! Terry's overtime was cut but that was ok because I was working, then we found out we were having twins and i've been on bedrest off and on. Needless to say we couldn't pay all of our bills. Especially with the Dr. bills that you have to pay in order to be seen by the doctor. And I have to see 2 doctors!
I've always been a pretty giving person. I enjoy helping others and often feel God urging me to do so. I definitely am a cheerful giver. However, being a gracious receiver is another story. My first reaction is to say "no, don't do that for me." I've never realized how important it is to be a gracious receiver until I was in such need. Our prayers were that God would help us and bless us and provide for all of our needs. But why did i feel so guilty when someone gave to me?
God had a big lesson to teach me! If I didn't allow others to give to me and to bless me then I was stealing their joy. I was not allowing them to be the cheerful giver that God had instructed them to be. If I didn't willingly accept the blessings that I had prayed for not only was I standing in the way of God's plan but I was stopping the other person from doing what they were supposed to do.
Now, If I prayed for God to bless us and help us and get us out of the bad situation how much sense did it make for me to not accept help from "others" when God was the one who sent them? It is very humbling to be in our situation. At some point or another most people get there and it's not a fun place to be. I always knew that God was there and I was very aware of His presence and so grateful to Him for carrying me through the valley.
Things are looking better now but my prayer is that the valley will always be in my peripheral vision so i will remain thankful and humbled.

So the next time someone wants to give you something or do something for you, please allow them to. You never know how much God has impressed on their hearts to do and you don't want to steal their blessing or their joy!