••KEEP••Rev. Rowley BW
Rev. Elizabeth Rowley is an independent columnist for The Atascadero News and Paso Robles Press; you can email her at revelizabeth@cccsl.org.

Continuing with Abundance as our seed of awakening for October, let us consider that receiving is as important as giving. As spiritual beings having a human experience, it is our nature to give.

We give of ourselves consistently in many ways. We regularly offer our attention, time, talent, money, love, joy, beauty, inspiration, and more. We all either have jobs now or once had a job with an exchange in the form of money. If you’re now retired, you may be receiving some form of pension or retirement from jobs you worked for many years. Congratulations, you deserve it!

Some people love to give of themselves so much that they forget to give to themselves, which gives rise to feelings of emptiness and depletion, leading to depression. Additionally, when offered a gift from the Universe, they may even say no thank you or block themselves from receiving the good being offered without realizing what they are doing.

There’s a story about a terrible storm that came into a town, and local officials sent out an emergency warning that the riverbanks would soon overflow and flood the nearby homes.

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They ordered everyone in that town to evacuate immediately. However, a faithful man heard the warning and decided to stay, saying to himself, “I trust God, and if I am in danger, then God will send a divine miracle to save me.”

The man was offered a car ride, a canoe ride, a motorboat, and a helicopter rescue, but the man refused every offer, claiming that God would save him. Finally, with the floodwaters high, he was left alone on his rooftop with his faith. It was then when he began to plead with God stating, “I put all my faith in you, God, why haven’t you saved me?” God responded, “I sent you a warning, a car, a canoe, a motorboat, and a helicopter. What more were you looking for?”

Is it possible that the Universe is making every attempt to answer the prayers of your heart, yet you are refusing to receive your good because you are not receptive? It’s time to be open at the top. This or something better. What else is possible?

Receiving is as important as giving. We deserve to receive our love and affection as much as anyone. When we take great care of ourselves, it is then that we can give joyously from our overflow. To perform photosynthesis, plants need three things: carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight. They take in water (H2O) through the roots, carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air, and light energy from the Sun, to make glucose (sugars) (to grow the plant and store some) and oxygen (O2).
So let’s be like plants and practice the mantra we created at Awakening Ways: receive, receive, receive, give.

You can flex your receptivity muscle this week by saying yes to what comes into your orbit. Have fun with it.
And so it is.