The setting Fall sun cast a shadow across the dashboard of the car as I sat in silence with the phone to my ear. “I don’t know if you’re familiar with them, but this is what they’d like to do…” The words of the financial planner rang in my ear as I tried to absorb the information she went on to lay out before me.
A GIFT.
The professional athlete and his wife had heard of Chase and his treatment and they wanted to help. They knew what God had asked them to do and they did it.
Stunned, I called Bob and imparted the information I’d heard. We sat in staggered silence on the phone. This gift would change the course of our lives and our legacy forever. I have to go. I was late. He agreed. We’d talk later.
I had been in the car on the way to a dinner at the pastor’s house and as I walked to the house, I encountered the pastor walking a child in from soccer practice. Immediately, unable to contain it, I blurted the news of the gift. What do we do? What do we say? Mere words don’t do this gift justice. And then he proceeded to smile and tell me to stop for a moment and see it for what it was – a tangible picture of God’s grace. A gift so big, so undeserved, so beyond the ability to describe that it changes the course of our lives and legacy forever.
That day was a Fall ago now. Time has passed, Chase is still with us, and we’ve met the givers and found great encouragement in our common faith, and the pastor was absolutely right. As we move through life, changed because of the gift, freed because of it, given great ability because of it, the gift stands as an always reminder of grace in our hearts and minds. And it has changed our lives forever.
These words have taken me a full 16 months to write because words still elude me. Every attempt still falls short in light of the incredible blessing. All I can say is this:
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. Romans 11:33ff
Moment by moment.
~Dedicated to the givers of the gift~
I have such a hard time with thank yous because … words are not enough to convey the gratitude. I think that I want to be able to pay the person back through my thanks, and of course it will never be enough. I need to come to the point where I can say thankyou, truly mean it, and accept that gifts often not meant to be exchanged, just given freely.