Givers of the Abundant Life

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10

For the past four years I have struggled with this verse. Ever since Eva’s accident and the fact that God has not completely healed her. I’ve argued with him, cried out to him, given him the silent treatment. You name it and I have expressed my opinion of this verse to God. The first part of the verse, yep, I believe it. But the 2nd part? Not so much. Because how can a sweet girl experience a tragic accident, leaving her immobile and, for the most part, non-communicative, be described as living an abundant life? I have fought with God, ceaselessly, about this verse…until this week.

After 6 weeks of being in the hospital, set up with a trachea and weeks of training for Dugan and Linds (and a little for me), Eva came home on Tuesday. To say everyone was thrilled and relieved is an understatement. Tuesday night, when I arrived to spend time with her, Linds said Eva would love to go for a walk. So after getting Eva in her wheelchair, attaching the suction machine and her pulse oximeter, off we went. And she enjoyed every second of it.

As Dugan lifted her out the chair and back in her bed, it hit me. How much Dugan and Linds do for Eva. They take her to musicals, school recitals, swimming, sign her up and be her coach for baseball, take her to Wisconsin Dells. Just to name a few. They moved to a bigger house in order to give Eva a pool to enjoy along with a larger room to accommodate her friends as well as a larger living room that is big enough to hold a bed so that Eva is never stuck just in her room. And now they must include machines and back-up trachaes to assure that she’ll always be taken care wherever she is.

But nothing deters Dugan and Linds from giving Eva an abundant life. They give it to her as well as to Phoenix, their 7 year old. Constantly thinking and planning of ways to make their lives, well, abundant.

I have always thought that the abundant life that Jesus promised was defined by good health, perfect family, money to spare, an exciting career, anything and everything that would make a person happy and secure. But after Tuesday and my time with Eva, I’ve come to realize that the abundant life is something that we’re all a part of contributing to.

When friends invite me to Alabama, to Rockford, to Chicago, out for tea, to a movie or a meal, or to pray for me, they are giving me an abundant life. When I invite someone over, speak words of encouragement, give someone a hug, I am contributing to their abundant life. The thief is consumed with destroying our lives, but God has surrounded us with abundant life-givers. It’s his doing, it’s his care for all of us in using others in our lives to bring about abundance.

Well, let me tell you, this has changed my entire perspective. Not only of the verse (which I have since apologized to God for, maybe more than once) but in how I look towards my day and the people in it. I’m no longer approaching each day simply thinking about what’s ahead. I’m thinking about how I can be an abundant life giver. And maybe looking forward and already being thankful for those who will be my abundant life givers. If nothing else, it takes the focus off of what’s missing and completely on the abundance that’s coming.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly”…through family, friends and strangers. So I’m on the lookout with a whole new perspective, ready to go live, give and receive an abundant life.