Move Forward
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.—Philippians 3:13 (NIV)
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.—JAMES 1:17 NASB
The people we care for are God’s special gifts to us.
These gifts usually come wrapped—in attitudes, struggles, problems, and pain. In many cases, the wrapping isn’t pretty— and can make the gift inside almost impossible to find. But through our kindness, love, and caring, God will help us slowly unwrap our gifts.
It’s a process, and God will help us to keep unwrapping and understanding our special gifts. Along the way, we learn that we are also gifts to the ones we care for—and God is unwrapping the barriers we’ve put around our own hearts in a bid for protection and security.
As caregivers and care receivers bear with each other through this process, both sides grow in God. We may all be surprised at what we discover hidden under the wrapping.
Lord, I pray for Your grace and strength as You unwrap the layers of these gifts. May we be blessed to become all that You would have us be.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.—Philippians 3:13 (NIV)
So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.—Genesis 1:21 (NIV)
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.—Colossians 3:23 (ESV)