Coffee Cakes and Coffee

[bluidkiti]

Coffee Cakes and Coffee

And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water. . .shall in no way lose his reward (Mt. 10:42).

It was an early morning after I had dropped the kids off at school. I had my usual hour before I myself had to be in class. I had bought my usual cup of coffee, and this time I picked up a package of three small coffee cakes--my favorite kind. I then pulled into an empty parking lot in front of the building that my class was in. I parked, opened my Bible, and bowed my head in preparation for my morning quiet time with God.
I felt so close to Him. And then a smile came across my face as I thought about God being right there with me. I thought of what I would do if anyone else were there in the car with me--I would offer them one of the coffee cakes I had with me. Then I smiled even more, in a silly kind of fashion, as I asked God if He would like one. The mere words coming out of my mouth made me smirk, however I was quite serious. I did not expect Him to materialize beside me or that one of the coffee cakes to suddenly disappear, but in my heart I just wanted to share what I had with God, as we sat together over morning coffee.
Then I heard His voice clearly within my heart. He said to me, "Even as you do unto the least of these, by brethren, you have done it unto me." I was struck by that, and sat there thinking about what that could mean to me. I then understood that He was telling me that the way I could share with Him was to share with others--the way I could give to Him and to love Him, was to give to and love others. The thought was very enlightening. And I responded by assuring God that next time I was in a similar situation, I would go to someone and do just what He had told me. His reply was to tell me to go do it now. I looked around, but saw no one. I then saw the building in front of me where my classes were and thought that there might be someone in there, even though it was still quite early. I told God I would go in there and that the first person I came across I would share with that person my coffee cake.
The first person I met was the department secretary. But she told me she could not have those kinds of sweets. The next person to come in was one of my professors. I asked him if he would like to share my coffee cakes and he invited me into his office. We sat down, ate, and I shared my story of what had brought me to him. Our conversation moved from one thing to the next, and eventually found its way to some of the troubles I was having in school. God used him to speak to me regarding my anxieties, and I left there with much more than I had came in with.
I left my professor's office with a new peace for where I was in school, my life, and God's will. Though my intention was to give, I was the one who received. Though my desire was to sacrifice (albeit a coffee cake), I was the one who gained. And what began as a desire to share a coffee cake with my Lord, became a life-changing moment, bringing peace to a troubled heart.
We can never ever out give God.

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over (Luke 6:38).

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