I don’t know where to start and I don’t know how to begin this post. All I can say is that the word “gift” has
taken a whole new meaning for me. A few months ago I found out my friend, was leaving the country for good! We were first friends, then he became my boss, then pastor, then mentor, then family!
My world turned upside down that day. I had people leave before and it was painful but this, this was a whole new level.
My pastor’s wife called me and sat me down as she told me the news. I was devastated and confused. Why God I asked?
This can’t be happening I thought. I had known my mentor’s family for over 10 years! I knew them when they
had their first son. They have four boys now and I love them to bits. Anyway I remember going to God and
crying out to Him for answers to the question why. Nothing came. Instead revelation came……
God showed me how they were gifts from Him. I met my mentor when I had just met The Lord. I am a sinner
now but back then I was much worse. If there is a word worse than sinner I was it. I was truly lost. I had no
direction and no plan. I had crazy issues I was beginning to work out. I had just became a Christian and this new
life was still…..new! I was dealing with a lot of things. I had no confidence and I had no self esteem. When he
employed me a year after meeting him I stole money from him! It was that bad. I WAS that bad! But thank God he never fired me or called the police. He gave me a second chance…….
I didn’t trust anyone back then and when he tried to help me out I would think he had some evil intension! When he disciplined me at work I would take it personally. When he made a joke about me I would get extremely angry. My stuttering was so bad back then which didn’t really help things! So believe me when I say, things were bad back then, really bad!!!
But God used him and his wife to mold me into who God wanted me to be. They taught me so much. They stood by
me when I had family issues. They helped me out financially countless times. They sat down and taught me so much
about God and life. In one of the darkest times in my life they were there.
God showed me how that was not an accident.
He knew all the change that needed to happen in me. He saw all I was going through and because of that He sent them
into my life. They were gifts. We serve a God who is the giver of gifts but the mistake we make is thinking gifts come in the form of money only. That’s not true. God’s gifts are so much more than money. They are deeper than that. During that time I never thought of them as gifts. We had our good times together and we had hard and difficult times.
The fact of the matter is this. God sent me gifts in the form of my mentor and his family. I just didn’t know it at the time and I never gave them the honor they rightly deserved. I wish I never took them for granted. I wish I honored them more and thanked them more for all they had done for me. I can’t put into words all that they did for me. A lot of who I am is because of their input in my life.
They saw so much potential in me and stood by me patiently. They are my family. I am telling you all this because….
…….they left on Wednesday this week! It’s been a hard week I must admit. They had my back. But in the midst of the pain God showed me how He will bring other “gifts” into my life after all; those “gifts” came from Him. He is the giver of all gifts. My mentor and his family never willed or planned to do all they did for me. God was behind it all. My mentor never knew the kind of impact he would have in my life but God did because He planned it. God was behind it all……
Yes, I am sad and broken at them leaving but I am also at peace because God has some amazing “gifts” in store for me.
I pray I be a “gift” to someone else as well. Would God use me to be the kind of “gift” my mentor was to me……
Have you acknowledged the “gifts” God has put in your life? There is a reason He has placed them in your life.
Don’t take them for granted. Thank them for all they are doing for you. It is not easy for them. There is always a
sacrifice on their part. May we always appreciate the “gifts” God has given us, always!
* This post is dedicated to the Stewart family. *
The Stewart family!
Rolain.
kingspeech 