“Sometimes, Cassie, in order to fully understand how to give, you have to have received much.” That afternoon, as soon as her words rolled off her tongue and hit my thirsty soul, I knew this carved out sentence would be the beginning of new understanding for me. There are many gifts to receiving.

Because I’ve been abundantly blessed to have been given so much during my single motherhood journey, from finances to favors, to an outpouring of God’s mercy and forgiveness, the words of my friend hit my heart hard. She, too, had been in the same place of great need. Coming all the way from Indonesia, her family was very well taken care of and comfortable in a variety of ways. Upon her arrival to America, life was unfamiliar and incomparable to the life she had known.

Maybe you have experienced this too. The vulnerable place of dependence. A need to receive.

For the most part, in this world, we are taught it is better to give than to receive. And while this is true for the most part, we tend to correlate giving to others as helping others and that helping others is much better than being in need. I’m going to challenge this with the idea that a common denominator exists for those who, during a select time, are positioned to dependence.

When we are emersed in a position of vulnerability and a desperate need to receive, our heart is given the opportunity to accept gifts we otherwise may never have valued.

Since relocating to Southern California several years ago, I’ve managed to be super blessed with some pretty awesome gems — as friends. Like the friend who served up the rich sentence above.

That afternoon we unwrapped a piece of our truth that in our greatest needs we found an abundance of gifts awaiting our discovery.

These gifts had been tucked inside seasons we may not have made it through had there not been others so graciously lending their resources. Resources designed and purposely aligned for two unique stories that God had prepared since the beginning of time.

As we began to dig up in conversation the treasures discovered in the depth of vulnerable, we connected the worth of our dependence to be that of a million lifelong lessons.

Humility.

Love.

Discipline.

Wisdom.

Mercy.

Increased faith.

Gratitude.

And a deep desire to give!

I am sure there were a few more mixed between it all but I wanted to give you the ripest fruit that surfaced from the pain and heartache of two journeys, in great need.

You, my friend, are no different. Positioned deep inside your heart is a purpose and a plan. And tucked into any master plan are seasons polishing us for greatness.  If you find it hard to open your heart to people helping you, I ask you take a step back and view it from a different perspective and answer these four questions:

Are you putting each foot in front of the other every day to do your best? Are you investing in others the way you want to be invested in, with a pure heart and clean intentions? Does your heart have pure motives and desires to push yourself to higher ground in all areas or are you limiting yourself and your abilities? Are you stepping out of your comfort zone and leaning into those uncomfortable places in order to receive what you need?

I want you to ask yourself this because I believe it plays a roll in the type of people we attract and who is willing to invest in us. The answers to some of these questions also show our willingness to dig deep and pursue our purpose and plan.

Beyond these places of receiving and through the classroom of needing so much is the beginning foundation of braving through the wilderness and equipping yourself with the tools you need to give back.

And isn’t that what this world is about? Shouldn’t we all have something to offer others at the end of each assignment?

A test passed. A class accomplished. 

’till next time friend,

-Cassie