Like the dogs in the Pixar movie "Up", I'm having a very distracting Saturday morning. I have a to-do list a mile long, but they are all little things. Problem is, every time I sat down to pray, then I think of just one of those little things I needed to do. I did finally manage to park myself on the sofa, thank goodness!
I'm still reading in Genesis, and I'm at the part where Jacob is setting out on his own with his entourage of 2 wives, many children, and lots and lots of livestock. As he heads out, he runs into Esau, the brother whom he had deceived and who had declared that he would kill Jacob.
Jacob sends forth gifts to appease Esau and ease the way.
The verse that I really liked this morning contained the words Jacob says to Esau when Esau tries to refuse the gifts Jacob is offering (Genesis 33:11):
Please accept my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough." Thus he urged him, and he took it.
To recognize that God has dealt graciously with us, and that most of us have enough physically is a large part of being grateful. I think I was struck by the verse because one of the key concepts that Wess Stafford, the president of Compassion International, talks about is that the opposite of "poverty" is not "wealth", it is "enough".
In light of the earthquake in Haiti and the heartbreaking situation there, it makes it even easier to see that most of us are incredibly blessed in the area of material things, and that it is a privilege to offer a blessing to others out of our wealth.
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