Sometimes Sacrifices Precede Blessings by Hima John
Sometimes sacrifices precede blessings.
Mayuri was a colleague; she was also the only friend at the workplace I had just joined.
Every year we wait for the month of December, as the institution we worked in gave its employees a Christmas bonus, which meant that we got a month’s salary in addition to our usual salary. Needless to say, we all planned well in advance on how we were going to spend it. It allowed us to buy things we could not otherwise afford, and came at a convenient time since new clothes and presents for our families were an inevitable expense during the Christmas season. I had planned on a new phone, a Kurti set and presents for my parents.
Mayuri did not seem too excited about her bonus. In fact, she seemed disturbed during the weeks preceding Christmas. From conversations during our coffee breaks, I put a few pieces together. She was suffering from back pain, which worsened at the end of the work shift, but back home she needed to wash dishes and hand wash school uniforms which her children wore the next day. There were times she couldn’t bear the pain and she had broken down crying, with no one to comfort her. A washing machine would really have been useful.
The motor which pumped water to the overhead tank was breaking down often and needed a replacement. Despite spending a lot of money on repairs over the past months, many mornings there had been no water in the house. It was very frustrating, but a new motor was unaffordable.
Her teenage son suffered from an inferiority complex since all his friends had more expensive clothes than he did. “Just buy me one set of good clothes, Mummy”, had been his demand.
She had an argument with her mother, who perceived that her Christmas present, a Sari, was beneath her since it had cost so little.
I did not have answers to her problems; I wasn’t sure what to say either. I knew that Mayuri was a Christian and that she prayed. She said - despite all this, sometimes through tears- that God would take care of everything.
The day that the bonus was credited, she casually walked up to me. She said, what she was telling me was confidential. She had withdrawn her entire bonus from the bank; put it into an envelope into the offertory box at the chapel. I was speechless. I was sure that she had made a foolish mistake. Thankfully I had enough discretion not to tell her. I managed to ask her why she had done this.
She said that she did not know what to do with the money, since her needs were so many and what she had was so little. She had decided to place it into God’s hands and face whatever she would have to. I thought it was an act of desperation. I worried about her mental state, and with my little faith, I prayed.
For a week nothing happened. I avoided her the way you avoid people who have so many unsolvable problems that it dampens your spirit.
A courier arrived one day. I was the first person she showed its content to. It was a check of Rs. 5000/- from an Aunt who had not been in touch for years. It had a handwritten note in Telugu instructing her to buy some clothes for the children and herself.
Another week later, there was a phone call from an electronic company. They were waiting in front of her house with a washing machine they had been instructed to deliver- Would she please come soon, so they could install it? It was a present from her sister.
Oh, and she got a new motor too. There was an exchange offer from the company, so she exchanged the old motor and bought a new one at a concessional, more affordable price.
I learned so many things that Christmas season.
- I learned that the Lord will never let anyone down who trusts in him.
“For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favour and honour. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Ps 84:11
2. I learned that we need not worry about any of our needs.
“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” Mat 6:31-32
- I learned that our needs would be met.
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:19
- We only have to ask.
“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:13-14
- He will reward all our sacrifices and all we have lost.
“I will restore the years that the locust has eaten” Joel 2:25.
What more could we ever ask for.
Hima is a daughter of the most High King. She is an Occupational Therapist with a deep interest in Psychology. She lives in south India with her husband Earnest, and two children who inspire her to experience life at its fullest. She is passionate about helping women overcome day-to-day struggles in her blog www.himajohn.com.