What Has 5 Legs and Smells Kinda Funny?

My guess is that you are trying to figure out the answer the question above. It's not what you might expect.

Stepping out in faith and moving across the country for me to attend seminary was no small task. We left our jobs, our income, our security (and much more) to follow Jesus. When you move to any new place, you are definitely in need of the basic necessities to stock a home in the United States. All the furniture we brought was a small couch and our bed. Not much for hospitality or a good reading chair!

My wife used good old Facebook to put out feelers for anyone willing to donate to the Votaw clan. Many people responded with invitations to take their gifts and donations. There was this one donation, though. It had five legs.

Excited, we loaded our new gift in the back of our Subaru and shortly found out that it smelled kinda funny. The moment I sat in it, I noticed that something had left its mark pretty strongly. We tried several different remedies to rid our new comfy chair of its weird smell. We tried everything. I was adamant we should re-donate our chair and pray for another. My wife on the other hand is extremely practical and already liked the chair. And she was determined.

The smell eventually faded, somewhat. When I sit to read in the chair, I every so often get a whiff of that funny smell. But it works.

You may be thinking, What is the point of this blog? Good question. I had a God encounter the other week. In it, God graciously gave me understanding that all things are a gift from Him. I laughed about the smelly chair. But then I thought a little deeper. If all things are gifts from God, does my heart pulse with gratitude to Him? Or does a sense of entitlement block my gratitude at times? A major end goal of a gift is gratitude of the receiver. I think God desires us to be thankful for all the gifts He sends our way. Even if they are not "exactly" what we expected or wanted, they are gifts from God and when our heart sees as gifts from His hand, gratitude arises.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)

What do you have that you did not receive? (1 Corinthians 4:7)

Let us remember that all that we receive is a gift from God. Even those smelly chairs that land in our lives!

Jesus, may we cultivate hearts of gratitude to you for all the gifts and blessings we often overlook in our lives. Amen.