Loaded with Rewards

“When you give, you’ll always receive.” That’s the message my dad has always ingrained in me whenever we gave tithes, or offered support for anyone in need, or even something as simple as leaving tips for servers.

And throughout my whole life, our family has lived by this philosophy. Our bank account was never positive; whatever we had, we gave. And this philosophy was carried out not just financially, but also with our time and energy. Whenever a person in church needed help or care, my parents took no hesitation in rushing out to visit and comfort and aid them.

I have to admit, there were times when I felt rather bitter towards these people in my church who requested so much of my parents’ time. It was tough to get a family moment, because we never knew when anyone would call asking for help. At that time, I resented that I had to share my own father’s time with so many others.

But as I started to show more interest in my father’s ministry and observed with careful scrutiny, I began to realize that the more we blessed other people, the more blessings we received. I began to see that anything we did, however little, did not fall from God’s eyes, and He rewarded us back one way or the other.

And yesterday, I once again confirmed this truth.

See, here’s the thing: University of Southern California? Not at all cheap with an estimated total fee of $54,000 a year. I received 80% financial grants and scholarship, but the remaining price we had to supplement was still rather hefty for us. Add to that the expense of plane tickets, and all the new materials and supplies I had to buy, and the amount we faced was staggering for a pastor’s meager salary.

I was worrying about it, but my dad confidently assured me that God will provide. And yes, indeed, He did. A couple in our church gifted a three thousand dollars check to my name on Sunday. Holy cow. Three freaking thousand dollars?

I didn’t know what to say; I was so blown away by God’s grace and their generosity. All I could do was get down on my knees and really thank the Lord and the couple. It’s true: Your act of kindness, however seemingly small and trivial, will always be repaid. Even if it is unseen in man’s eyes, it can never escape the eyes of God, and the silent delight inside you in the knowledge that you have done something good is the best reward of all. 

This just once against puts a deep stamp in my heart that I will, I will repay all the grace that I’ve received throughout my entire life. I want to live the rest of my life giving, for there is no greater joy than that.

Okay, well, there sure is some joy in receiving, too! Feeling a tad bit richer, I decided to have lunch out with my friend Jane who was visiting from New York. I was very excited to try this new place that opened:

Jason’s Deli! This place has been mentioned several times throughout the food blogosphere and I had been so curious to try the food there!

The menu there was extensive, with lots of different sandwich, salad, and soup options. It was basically like Panera, except there were more choices, and there was even an option to build your own sandwich.

Jane decided to build her own sandwich with a side of chips and pickle:

Hot corned beef, smoked red pepper-cilantro aioli, and provolone on grilled herb focaccia bread.

I ordered the Turkey Rueben with a side of steamed veggies:

Oven roasted turkey breast, sauerkraut, low fat swiss, organic stone ground mustard, grilled on rye.

Look at the size of this thing! It’s loaded!

Truthfully, though it was pretty tasty, it wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. I wished there were more cheese in there than turkey!

Jane made me take this picture to showcase the loaded potatoes that she’s convinced must be fabulous because they’re named after her:

I caught a glimpse of someone ordering these, and those potatoes were huge. Like, the size of my forearm. Wowee~

Oh, and the best thing?

Free soft-serve ice-cream! Complimentary for the pampered customers of Jason’s Deli!

Well, I’m off to fill my rumbling tummy again. I hope all of you have a great week of giving and receiving! Oh, and one more thing: I’m meeting two fabulous bloggers tomorrow for breakfast! Who? I’m not revealing! All I can say is, I’m itching with excitement, because they are two freaking wonderful bloggers and I’m so honored to be able to meet them!

Question of the week: How have you been repaid for your own efforts of giving? And, have you ever been to Jason’s Deli?