在艾絲發現自己罹患癌症時，她已做好心理準備要回天家與耶穌團聚。雖然最終她康復了，但卻無法走動。這令她深感疑惑，不明白為何上帝要存留她的生命。她求問上帝：「我還能做些什麼呢？我沒有很多錢，也沒什麼才能，又無法走動。我對祢有何用處呢？」

後來，艾絲找到一些簡單又微小的方式去服事他人，特別是那些在她住家周圍負責打掃的外籍工人。只要看見他們，她就會買食物給他們，或給他們幾塊錢。雖然她給的不多，但對他們多少有些幫助。當她這樣做時，她發現上帝也特別供應她：朋友和親戚會送她禮物和金錢，使她能用來祝福別人。

當艾絲分享她的經歷時，我覺得她實踐了約翰一書關於彼此相愛的教導：「我們愛，因為上帝先愛我們」（4章19節），以及使徒行傳20章35節的真理：「施比受更為有福。」

艾絲因為領受了恩典而付出，進而自己也得到了鼓勵。但她所做的不過是帶著愛和感恩的心，隨時樂意與人分享她所擁有的東西，而上帝在這「施與受」的良性循環中，使祝福倍增。讓我們祈求上帝賜給我們感恩和慷慨的心，願意順從祂的帶領為人付出。

When she was struck by cancer, Elsie was prepared to go home to heaven to be with Jesus. But she recovered, though the disease left her immobile. It also left her wondering why God had spared her life. “What good can I do?” she asked Him. “I don’t have much money or skills, and I can’t walk. How can I be useful to You?”

Then she found small, simple ways to serve others, especially her home cleaners who were migrants. She bought them food or gave them a few dollars whenever she saw them. These cash gifts were small, yet they went a long way toward helping the workers make ends meet. As she did so, she found God providing for her: friends and relatives gave her gifts and money, enabling her to bless others in return.

As she shared her story, I couldn’t help but think of how Elsie was truly putting into practice the call to love one another in 1 John 4:19: “We love because he first loved us” as well as the truth of Acts 20:35, which reminds us that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Elsie gave because she received and was in turn encouraged as she gave. Yet it took little more from her than a loving, grateful heart and a readiness to offer what she had—which God multiplied in a virtuous circle of giving and receiving. Let’s ask Him to give us a thankful and generous heart to give as He leads us!