Overwhelming Generosity

Driving across town this morning, I passed a lot of rummage sales.  Thinking about all of that stuff spread across all of those lawns led me down the path of thinking about our own stuff.  As I mentally sifted through our possessions I noticed a common theme - generosity.

Just about everything we have was given to us.  In fact, It doesn't take long at all to count the material possessions we have that we have actually purchased ourselves.  Take the furniture for example.  We bought a discount sofa set,  a set of storage shelves, a small end table,  a potty chair, 2 booster seats and an art desk (a Christmas present for Cap).  Every single other piece of furniture was given to us.  In our 27 (yikes) combined years of driving, we have purchased 1 vehicle.  We have had 5 vehicles given to us.  I think Jeff bought the computer he took with him to college.  If he did that's the only time either of us has ever purchased one.  And yet we've always had a computer at home.  The trend continues to very nearly everything we own, with the only exceptions being the food in our pantry and my children's book obsession.  Our cabinets are full of wedding presents and hand-me-downs.  While we've bought some of our own clothing, many of them have come in the form of Christmas and birthday gifts.

It's incredibly overwhelming.  It was all I could do to hold back the tears as I considered how incredibly blessed we've been.  What's more, except for gifts we've received from wedding and baby registries I'm pretty sure we haven't asked for any of it.  There have been times we have expressed a need and been knocked off our feet by the generosity of a family member or a friend who responded with a gift we never imagined.  But most of the gifts we completely spontaneous, "Hey, do you want this ____?" kind of things.

Looking around our house, things are pretty eclectic.  We've got oak and walnut and pine and particle board and I don't even know what else. Some of our furniture is very nice and other pieces are very well worn (mostly the stuff we bought).  And yet, it makes our home beautiful.  Not so much because of the aesthetic properties as the incredible testimony to the generosity of people and the blessings of God.