Hands & Feet

Lizzy and I were sitting on the couch yesterday talking and singing to one of her baby dolls. Randomly, she asked me, "Mom, can we take pictures of our hands and feet?" I was pretty confident that she was trying to distract me from the fact that it was almost naptime, but I decided to just say okay, and I grabbed the camera.

And then I started thinking about the Audio Adrenaline song "Hands and Feet". If you don't know it, the part that I was thinking about goes like this:

I'll be your hands 

I'll be your feet 

I'll go where you send me

I'll go where you send me 

And I'll try, yeah I'll try 

To touch the world 

Like you touched my life 

And I'll find my way 
To be Your hands.

And then I started thinking about how it's comfortable to me to be Jesus' hands and feet. It's comfortable to me to be the one giving. Advice. Money. Time. Whatever it is, I'm usually happy to give it. It feels good to be that person who sends a little letter or package to someone just because they seem like they could use it.

But this week? Other people have been the hands and feet of Jesus in our lives (which is a markedly less comfortable position--being the recipient rather than the giver-- to be in for me). Really though, they have. Many without even really knowing or realizing it. Many without having a clue what was going on with the whole OHSU drama.

After talking with the lady from the Department of Revenue this past Monday, I was feeling kind of weary. I felt like I'd lost a bit of faith in humanity in general. But God is gracious, and has gently reminded me (and us) in both big ways and small this past week that He has proven to provide abundantly, beyond what I could ever expect.

From the comments and emails that many of you left after Tuesdays post, to the random texts from people this week saying "Hey, I was just thinking about you--how are you doing?", to people calling to ask Justin if he'd be interested in some side/weekend work...to Justin being handed an extremely generous check by someone we know with the simple explanation that "I forgot to give my check for offering at church this past Sunday, and I just keep feeling like I'm supposed to give it to you instead." {I still can't really even type that last one without getting majorly choked up because it is just the amount that will make a significant difference to us this month with the unexpected way that things have turned out with OHSU}.

I am so grateful. This is just beyond....everything.

All of it, big and small, were clearly God things...and I just feel like I'd be remiss to tell you about the sucky parts of this week without telling you about the incredible ways that God has worked in spite of the parts that were crappy. Without telling you the ways that so many of you were His hands and feet for us this week. So thank you all. Really. You were balm for a soul that was more than a little weary this week. I so appreciate it, and am just blown away by all of it.