Lavish

Lavish

How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world.

“DID YOU KNOW your daddy ate shrimp every day before afternoon kindergarten with his grandma Grace?” Grandma Connie asked Jonny as she took his plate, handing it to Aaron for a dollop of cheesy potatoes from the far side of the table before giving it back. We were at my mother-in-law’s house for dinner when she shared this beloved memory, which has been retold countless times, yet we never tire of hearing it.

“Every day? He got shrimp every day?” Jonny asked, glancing at Aaron with a mischievous grin, knowing the story and yet loving to hear about his dad’s childhood.

“Just about every day,” Connie confirmed. “Grandma Grace stayed with us that winter, and she’d take him out for lunch before she dropped him off at kindergarten. Your dad loved the shrimp basket, and as they ate, they’d chat all about the things he wanted to talk about.”

There is the tiniest whiff of scandal around the word shrimp, an extravagance for an otherwise financially conservative woman. Grandma Grace so loved her grandson that she not only took him out for lunch every day, but she let him get the popcorn shrimp basket.

I love this story. I never tire of hearing it. Grandma Grace lavished love upon her grandson in the form of his favorite food and her undivided attention. It delighted him, and I’m sure it delighted her as well.

As much as Grandma Grace loved her grandchildren, God’s love is infinitely deeper. He lavishes love upon his children: freely poured out and everlasting. His gift of peace always, even in the midst of hardships and difficult circumstances, is an unconditional promise, ours for the asking (see Philippians 4:7). God’s peace gifted to us is but one example of the blessings he promises to lavish upon us, gifts with eternal value, things that will not rot, be stolen, or fade away.

Lord, thank you for your lavish love, for gifts with eternal value as we press onward, following you. Amen.

-Julie

One Good Step: Who can you lavish love upon this week? Make a list of three people and surprise them with a coffee, an old-fashioned note in the mail, or some homemade cookies left on their doorstep.