Have you ever had somebody do something for you that left you so blessed and so thankful and yet fully knowing there was no way you could ever repay them? The funds that have come in for our adoption have made us feel that way...but I also felt that way this past week while visiting in California.
We have not been able to open the door on the back of our van for over a year due to a car accident in which our van was totaled...but still able to be driven (and drive it we have for the last year!). You can imagine the inconvenience of it all...especially after a trip to Costco!:)In fact, we permanently left our car top carrier on the van to hold those extra items! And, if I am being honest, it is very humbling to drive around in an old van with the back end scrunched up. I have often referred to our van as my humble-mobile!
In comes the blessing: I went out for the day last Tuesday with my dear friend, Wendy, and, while we were gone, her husband Kawika and brother-in-law Tony took apart the back end of our car and, after 10 hours of work: fixed the door, punched out some of the dents, straightened out the bumper, cleaned the inside and outside of our van and waxed it too! All without me having a clue it was going on till I got home that night!!!
It was a labor of love that I could not repay...and I honestly felt my words were inadequate to express my gratitude. And I realized that those same emotions that raced through my heart are very similar to the emotions I should feel every time I think about my Savior! His labor of love was a laborious death...for MY sin. Although I owe Him everything, there is absolutely nothing I can do to repay Him. I can add nothing to His worth nor give Him something He does not already call His own. But with a heart overflowing, I CAN worship at His feet, praise Him and give thanks to His name. I can tell of His wonders, offer my body a living sacrifice and strive, through the Holy Spirit, to be holy as He is holy. I can be glad and exult in my Redeemer.
Every time I open the back of my van, I pray that I do so not just with a thankful heart towards Kawika and Tony but with a heart full of thanksgiving to the God to Whom their service was ultimately directed and to Whom all praise is due!
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