So Much Beauty

I've recently been slightly overwhelmed with God's goodness. Yes, His goodness is everywhere and evident in all things, but sometimes it's just a little hard to see. Recently, this goodness has been in my face and obvious, perhaps a sign that I'm missing seeing the goodness when it's a little more hidden and subtle. Throughout my whole life I've witnessed this goodness, and have seen so many clear evidences in my family and in my own personal life.

For one, Victor the Volvo. I knew that going to Ireland this past summer would mean not working and therefore not saving money for a car I really did need. I prayed that God would provide a car, and a free one was given to me. And not any car, mind you, but Victor the Volvo. Well, last week I wrote about Victor's trauma, and just when I thought I had to give in and buy a car, I was reminded to just sit back and relax. At work there's this wonderful woman who is a teacher, has four kids, and is working on her black belt. She also happens to love Volvo's, and since I already knew this, I told her the sad news about my car. Well, as it turns out, her husband is literally a Volvo expert and she told me to have him look at my car. The original repair shop told me it couldn't be fixed, the Volvo dealership said it would be about $900, and Oliver (bless his soul) told me he could fix it for more than half that price. There aren't many Volvo's in the Shelby-metro area. It seems interesting to me that I work at the Olive Garden, where one of the workers I'm actually close to loves Volvo's, and her husband knows exactly how to fix them. It seems God smiles and tells me over and over again that He is active in my life, that He is pursuing me, that He is greater than anything I can imagine.

Aimee is a server at the Olive Garden who has a 2 year old son and is aga due again in a few months. She and her boyfriend are just in the process of buying a house as well. In the back of the restaurant last Saturday afternoon, I saw Aimee crying. She and I get along quite well, so I went over to her. She told me they were tears of joy and showed me a credit card slip. There was a $100 tip. With the tip was a note, "I just felt the Lord calling me to give this to you and I trust it will be useful to you, a blessing from the Lord." Now, in the world of tips, it's common knowledge that if you see a table praying before they eat that it's likely you're gonna get a pretty crappy tip. This is terribly sad and does not speak well of christians (and therefore, Christianity), but it is the way Christians are perceived by my fellow servers. (I've witnessed this firsthand when I get a really bad tip with a pamphlet that says, "If you died today, would you be going to hell?" Anyway, that's another subject for another day. Aimee cried for a good half-hour and was shaky all night. I just grinned and grinned and told her I was so delighted for her. The entire atmosphere at the Olive Garden was different and everyone read that note. People spoke well of God and His followers.

I have one more story, involving Julie and Barry. Julie is Joy's best-friend from her growing-up years and has been a great encouragement in our relationship. She and her man Barry are both full-time students paying for college by themselves and are also very involved in ministry and "college stuff," leaving time for another job hard to find. About a month ago, Julie received an anonymous envelope in the mail. When she opened it, she found ten $100 bills. There was a note saying that the ministry they did was appreciated and it was understood that sacrifices were being made in order for that ministry to happen.

These are just some examples of what I love about the body of Christ. Yeah, these stories all involve money, but I don't think that's the point. It's that these people felt blessed with what they had and wanted to give to others, both to those who know Christ and those who do not. To me, these are examples of Christ's love being displayed in action, examples of faith with works, examples of giving to the poor and needy, examples of Christ.

I hope you see the blessings in your own life. I admit that they usually aren't this clear and obvious, but I also believe they are there regardless. It's been one of those weeks that I think of the movie "American Beauty." In the film, Ricky, a teenager who deals drugs and suffers from an abusive father, comments on the beauty that he films. He says, "Sometimes there is so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it. And my heart is going to cave in." It's an overwhelming feeling and it's totally sweet. This is a little bit of how I've felt this week and I catch myself laughing for no reason and crying because I don't know how else to be thankful.