Ryan’s entry – Role Reversal

‘Tis better to give than receive.  Does this phrase ring a bell? It’s the all too popular phrase that you hear throughout the Christmas season.   What does this really mean?

There is something about the look in one’s eyes when they receive a gift that is grateful appreciation.  That look is worth far more than the numbers that rang up on the cash register.  That look is the receipt.  A receipt that says it all.  It can be summed up in two words:  “thank you”.

My classmates and I have been pushing full steam ahead on this project, and in our visits to their home, we have had the privilege of working right alongside the Todd family.  I have had great conversations with Simon, Ruby, Tarahann, Rachael, and even Caleb himself.  Coming into this project, one might have looked back to the all too popular Christmas phrase, placing our roles into that of the giver.  But during one of my many conversations with the family members, I was taken aback.  The words spoken to me by the family still ring in my mind.  “During our worship this morning, we prayed for you specifically, Ryan.”  That “thank you” look was not on the face of the family this time.  It was on mine.

Giving IS receiving.  Sometimes in ways you least expect.  I know that this project is going to have a huge positive impact on not only myself but on everyone else who gives.  I strongly believe that by the completion of this project, every giver will realize that they were in fact the one who received.

-Ryan