My 3-year-old twin grand daughters are beginning to discover giving. I’m pretty proud of their mother, my daughter, for instilling this virtue in them. Right now, it’s mostly works of art, but they have recently graduated to sharing their ice crème … and let me tell you, that’s big deal.
The youngest will come up to my chair or pull on my shirt and say, “Here Papa, this is to you.” She gets such joy just seeing me receive it.
My pastor said Sunday that “Giving has its own set of blessings.” They are mostly unseen and uncelebrated, but they are none-the-less real.
Jesus said, “It is greater to give than to receive.” Yet another foreign concept in this world we live in.
But it is true. We experience it every day at our two shelters. Our staff will tell you that there is nothing like helping someone get back on their feet and see them become purposeful in their lives again. Volunteers tell me all the time that they receive a much bigger blessing than they give. They do it with such joy that there is no doubt where that comes from.
God wired us to serve and give. And giving isn’t always about material things. Sometimes it is our time, our talents, our energy or just our presence.
The other evening in one of our graduations, a student shared that it was meaningful to him that Steve Sparks, the CEO would take the time to talk to him and shake his hand. Now let me tell you, that while it makes me feel good to hear it, I’m not that important. But to him, someone he looks up to noticed him. And it was such a small thing to me, but monumental to him.
Giving of ourselves comes from a place that truly connects us to Jesus. It is His Holy Spirit prompting us and reminding us that, this is what we are here for. Just try it and see how it makes you feel.
