Unexpected gifts

Unexpected gifts

I’m a big Husky fan. I bleed purple and gold. Saturday afternoons you’ll find me within listening distance of a radio to catch Bob Rondeau call the games. So, the other day when a friend stopped by and gave me a new Columbia jacket with the “W” on the front and “Washington” on the back you can imagine my excitement. When I walked in the door at home that night one of my daughters said, “Daddy, you look like a real Husky coach!”

Two days before this surprise gift I was sitting in my office  and in walked one of my former Campus Life (YFC’s high school and middle school ministry) walk in.  Veronica got involved in our Lakewood Campus Life program nearly 10 years ago while a sophomore at Clover Park and went through her share of difficult times as an adolescent. But last week she stood in front of me, 27 years old and married, walking daily in a relationship with Jesus and thanking me for the investment that I and my wife, Jenelle, had made in her life.

Two unexpected “gifts”–one, the gift of UW apparel to be worn with pride as the Huskies go to a bowl game (I can be optimistic, right?) and the other, the gift of being part of God transforming a young woman’s life.  Looking back on these two gifts reminds he how blessed I am…and the opportunities I have to be a blessing to others. Unexpected gifts bring a smile to your face but also life and refreshment to your soul.  In Galatians 6:9 it says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

I challenge you to think how you can bring an “unexpected gift” to a friend this weekend. Maybe it’s an encouraging word, a hug, or simply a visit to thank them for the way they have blessed your life.  It’s guaranteed to bring rewards.