Give or Receive?

I have been staring at a quote all week – the written calendar I use (yes, I still use a pencil calendar for some things) has one inspirational quote per week. It says this, “The more we give of anything, the more we shall get back.” ~Grace Speare

Truthfully, this quote has bothered me all week too. While on the surface… I agree – karma style. What isn’t sitting so well with me is this – what if you’re trying to give something you don’t have? For example, money… I believe this is the most common reaction to this statement. Give more to charity or to family or to whomever needs it… but what if you don’t have more to give? Does that mean you won’t get anything back? What about kindness? Love? Compassion? Empathy? I know quite a few caretakers who continue to give and give and give more emotional support then then have but are they really getting it back, getting refilled?

So, the question for me has been… how do you give something you don’t have when it’s exactly what you need? The answer came this morning from Pastor DJ Smith at JFC – You can’t give away what you haven’t first received. OK… so I know what you’re saying – well, duh?!!! But let’s think about that… we’re (me) always so focused on giving back that in most cases we don’t open ourselves up to receive. Let me say that again – you must open yourself up to receiving whatever it is you want to give… love, compassion, money, hospitality. It is impossible to give what you aren’t WILLING to receive first.