The Gift, The Giver, The Glory

Remember as a child when you were prompted to say thank you and acknowledge the giver when you were given a gift? Actually, it was a good practice to learn, and a great habit to develop. Sadly, expressing gratitude today is not as popular as it used to be.

                             

This past week Jan and I enjoyed a week in the Cayman Islands. The trip was a gift from Becks as a thank you for using their seed on our acres.

The 21 condo apartments known as the London House are filled with farmers from all over the Midwest. There is great comradery and conversation from morning coffee, to sitting on the beach, to hanging out in the ocean. 

Evening are often filled with eating out with new friends, watching a televised game together, playing cards, or reading a good book.

Every year around this time I retell the story of the spice isle. For those of our blog family who are experiencing back issues and could possibly need a solution. In 2017 Jan and I stopped at Fosters Grocery in Cayman. In the spice isle we met a fellow named David from Tennessee. He was on the island for his wife's back disc replacement surgery.

Our son BJ was back home with a ruptured disc in his lower back. When Jan and I returned to our rental car we discussed if we should email BJ and Cassia. This surgery was done by surgeons from the states, but had to be performed out of country because the new procedure was not yet approved in America. The next month BJ and Cassia came for a week's stay in Cayman, had the ruptured disc replaced, and are still farming today because of this divine intervention. Thank you David for the info. Thank you Becks for us being on the island. Thank you Dr. Scott and team for doing the surgery. And most of all thank you Lord for this gift. Today this surgery is done in the states. Google 3Spine if interested. The 3 founders driving force behind the company comes from the principle of "giving back, helping others, and caring for friends". Our family just reconnected two weeks ago when they did back surgery on Natalie's (our 8th grade granddaughter) back.

From obstacles to opportunities, from self doubt to anticipation, from fear to freedom, what we are devoted to, becomes the kind of people we are.

Everything we are and have is a gift from the Giver above. And He wants us to use our gifts for His glory and others good. "God has given each of you gifts. Use them well to serve one another". 1 Peter 4:10