My Love Gift

"Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love-gift."

That exhortation that I read the other day challenged me so much that I decided to incorporate it into my morning time with God. And when I came to it this morning, God immediately nudged me yet again. The blessing that came to mind was my husband.
Um, but how do I do that, God? How, exactly, do I surrender my husband to You? 

"If you hoard it for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded." 

Ah, I see now. Quite clearly. In offering my husband to You, You protect me from a spirit of entitlement. Whew, I've definitely created my share of dry rot there, at times.

"Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship." 

I thought about Abraham as he laid his only son on the altar. And also what I read about his sacrifice just yesterday, and God's call to be a living sacrifice: "God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself."
He wants my marriage to be a living sacrifice.

Another note I'd jotted down for my morning routine, right along with the love-gift, were Jesus' words, "Bring Me what you have."

My eyes welled up, and stayed fixed on those words for quite a bit. You would think I would have given myself a personal punch in my own gut to offer my husband to the Lord at any point last year given that in 2019, I grieved with a close family member who lost her husband. And with a friend who also lost her husband. And with another friend who also lost her husband. Three women whose worlds were turned entirely upside down at the loss of their beloveds. But I've been bearing their burdens so heavily that apparently my soul hasn't totally come up for air to consider what God may be calling me to consider about my own beloved in the midst of all that.

Bring Me what you have, He says.

I still have my husband. . .

(hence the tears)

Oh Lord . . .
Forgive me for taking my husband's mere presence for granted. Each day that I get to be in his presence is a gift. For at any given moment, he could be gone from this world. Please replace my default posture of taking him for granted with a spirit of cherishing, gratitude, and joy.

He is Your servant. Do with him according to Your will.

"God will never allow you to keep a spiritual blessing completely for yourself. It must be given back to Him so that He can make it a blessing to others." 

And may our marriage be a living sacrifice so that you may make it a blessing to others. Amen.

(All quotes aside from Jesus' are from Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest January 6th entry, except the living-sacrifice quote, which is from the January 8th entry.)