I love Barbara’s comment. I’m so encouraged by this post, too, especially the picture of stagnant water. It has to move and circulate to stay alive, and so do our gifts and talents. We weren’t meant to store up treasure for ourselves. Living for something bigger than ourselves - that’s the life that is truly life. Thank you for this!
Love the reminder to find an unexpected way to help--even when no one is even asking. I am grateful to be able to work with the SECU Family House at UNC Hospitals. It is sort of a Ronald McDonald House for adults undergoing serious medical treatment far from home.
Friends are surprised when they ask me what I do there and I say "Fold Clean Laundry". No it doesn't sound important at all. No it doesn't teach me new skills. What it does, however, is unburden the staff so they can tend more closely to the guests.
There are 70 suites that are almost always full. That is good and bad of course. It is great to be able to serve so many families. You just have to remember that all the guests are there because of illness. They are all carrying heavy loads.
I was debating whether to sign up for a shift on Friday afternoon this week (last Friday there was a literal avalanche of laundry). No reason, just planning my week. Chris' message reminded me to get going and sign up! Do small things with great love, as Mother Teresa said.
This one hit me hard today. Thanks for sharing. Yesterday I was spiraling and I had signed up for a 3 hour mentoring session at the graduate center at UNC to support grad students with their resumes. I really felt depleted and this was not ideal timing. Then, I went and giving energy to others gave me energy. It help me compartmentalize my problems. Generosity gives back in such unexpected ways. Love this!
I know a very wise man who said that it is more blessed to give than to receive. I think, if we all look deep inside of ourselves, we will find this to be inherently true—just by the way it makes us feel.
One of my favorite events that my church does with their youth group is “random acts of kindness” where they go out into the community and just help strangers with whatever they needed help with. I do my best to live that on a daily basis…
Thinking about this......someone recently described generosity to me this way.....I asked my aunt for money and my uncle for money.....my aunt gave me $10 and my uncle gave me $20....the difference was my aunt had $20 and my uncle had $100. I am by no means suggesting people give away all of their money/time/resources until it is a burden to themselves, but it really made me think.....generosity should be as you point out intentional...not for show, not for recognition, but honestly for the joy it brings to the giver. I can honestly say I am more excited to give gifts on Christmas than to receive them, regardless of their monetary value....does this gift show how much I was thinking of them or some special time we spent together or representative of something they enjoy? Does it make them feel "seen" and special? And when it does, it makes me so happy. Maybe now I will think up something new to give this week (although we all know it's usually something I cook) :)
I love Barbara’s comment. I’m so encouraged by this post, too, especially the picture of stagnant water. It has to move and circulate to stay alive, and so do our gifts and talents. We weren’t meant to store up treasure for ourselves. Living for something bigger than ourselves - that’s the life that is truly life. Thank you for this!
“Living for something bigger than ourselves” really is the heart of it. When our gifts circulate, life expands.
Love the reminder to find an unexpected way to help--even when no one is even asking. I am grateful to be able to work with the SECU Family House at UNC Hospitals. It is sort of a Ronald McDonald House for adults undergoing serious medical treatment far from home.
Friends are surprised when they ask me what I do there and I say "Fold Clean Laundry". No it doesn't sound important at all. No it doesn't teach me new skills. What it does, however, is unburden the staff so they can tend more closely to the guests.
There are 70 suites that are almost always full. That is good and bad of course. It is great to be able to serve so many families. You just have to remember that all the guests are there because of illness. They are all carrying heavy loads.
I was debating whether to sign up for a shift on Friday afternoon this week (last Friday there was a literal avalanche of laundry). No reason, just planning my week. Chris' message reminded me to get going and sign up! Do small things with great love, as Mother Teresa said.
Thank you for signing up to volunteer and for sharing this story. Small things done with great love really do compound.
This one hit me hard today. Thanks for sharing. Yesterday I was spiraling and I had signed up for a 3 hour mentoring session at the graduate center at UNC to support grad students with their resumes. I really felt depleted and this was not ideal timing. Then, I went and giving energy to others gave me energy. It help me compartmentalize my problems. Generosity gives back in such unexpected ways. Love this!
“Giving energy to others gave me energy.” That’s it right there. Generosity has a way of steadying us when we least expect it.
Thank you for showing up even when you felt depleted. That’s where the real compounding happens.
I know a very wise man who said that it is more blessed to give than to receive. I think, if we all look deep inside of ourselves, we will find this to be inherently true—just by the way it makes us feel.
So true, Ari. When you strip everything else away, the feeling that comes from giving is hard to replicate.
One of my favorite events that my church does with their youth group is “random acts of kindness” where they go out into the community and just help strangers with whatever they needed help with. I do my best to live that on a daily basis…
Jason, you absolutely do. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who has changed more strangers’ flat tires than you... You live it.
Thinking about this......someone recently described generosity to me this way.....I asked my aunt for money and my uncle for money.....my aunt gave me $10 and my uncle gave me $20....the difference was my aunt had $20 and my uncle had $100. I am by no means suggesting people give away all of their money/time/resources until it is a burden to themselves, but it really made me think.....generosity should be as you point out intentional...not for show, not for recognition, but honestly for the joy it brings to the giver. I can honestly say I am more excited to give gifts on Christmas than to receive them, regardless of their monetary value....does this gift show how much I was thinking of them or some special time we spent together or representative of something they enjoy? Does it make them feel "seen" and special? And when it does, it makes me so happy. Maybe now I will think up something new to give this week (although we all know it's usually something I cook) :)
Love that example. It’s not about the amount, it’s about the posture behind it.
And making someone feel seen, that’s the heart of generosity.
Homemade or not, when it’s thoughtful, it’s powerful.