Touched by Generosity

I was touched by the kindness of strangers this week. My daughter and son-in-law are adopting his almost two-year-old daughter, and as part of that process they have moved into a bigger apartment. They are young and still finding their way in the world. They are changing their lifestyle, and need everything. On top of that, money is tight.

We have been scouring garage sales and have found some of what we need, but are down to the wire. They get their first overnight visit with this sweet little girl this week. I posted the last of the key items they needed on a couple of Facebook pages. I was overwhelmed by the kindness of people who knew nothing about me and nothing about my daughter. They just knew we had a need. They offered generously, and gave many of the items we needed for free.

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this very way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. I Timothy 6:17-19

The women who gave so generously of what they have aren’t wealthy in this world, but they are rich in good deeds. They are willing to share. They understand the key to a life that is truly life. They know that the only hope that is dependable is hope in God. They have learned to hold tightly to God and loosely to things.

What they didn’t know was that they were being watched. My son-in-law is not a believer. He has no experience with church or with the family of God. All he knows about Christians are what he has seen on TV and in the media. He is learning more as he interacts in my home, and he learned a lot today. He was touched by the kindness of strangers. He witnessed the love of a community of people such as he had never seen before. He witnessed the love of the people of God.

Freely you have received; freely give.

Matthew 10:8

I am grateful for each of you who gave so generously. I am praying for you today, praying that you are blessed in both small and large ways. I am praying that you would find rest and peace, and know that the way you live your lives is a witness and a sacrifice that God will honor. Can you feel him smiling at you?

Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man. Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he will never be shaken. Psalm 112:4-6

A Life Without Regret

As you lay on your deathbed, what thoughts will go through your mind? Will it be filled with warm memories of a life well lived? Will it be filled with thoughts of people you loved, and who love you? Will it be filled with pleasure, or will it be filled with regret?

My guess is that most of us will have a combination of all of these. I don’t have a lot of regrets. Part of that is because I believe that our mistakes are part of our becoming the person that we are. I’ve certainly made my share of mistakes. I do have a few regrets. I regret that I didn’t stick up for myself more when I was younger. Mostly I regret that I didn’t take the time to be kinder.

Now, I am not by nature an unkind person. I am, however, a busy person. I am a fixer, a doer, someone who listens with action in mind. When I was younger, there were always a million things that needed to be done, a child who needed attending to, a church program that needed working, a meal that needed cooking or a room that needed cleaning. I was always in a hurry. I wish I had listened more. I wish I had taken time to sit in the park and listen to the lonely mother, or the grandmother. I wish that when I had taken a meal to a sick friend I had stopped for a moment to listen.

 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:9-10

I know that sometimes I got tired of being sensitive to every one else’s needs. Sometimes I had a misguided sense of what was important. There were clothes that needed washing and dinners to cook. Maybe I would have taught my kids better about what was really important if I had stopped for a minute, and done a kind thing. Mostly I regret the relationships I missed out on or slighted by not taking the time to be kind.One author says that true love equals listening. People want to be heard. People need to be heard.

God gives us to each other, to help each other, to lift each other up. We are also given to each other for our benefit, to remind us that while sometimes we are the giver, other times we are the receivers of relationship, of compassion and kindness, of help. Sometimes when we stop and take a minute to listen or to reach out in compassion, the one we really help is us. When we fail to do the kind thing, when we are too busy to stop and listen, the one who loses is us. And the other person.

Heaven is made up of the Body of Christ, you and me, living in eternal relationship. The laundry and the job and the errands and the programs are temporal. You and I are eternal. When we do good, when we are kinder and more sensitive, when we love, we are investing in the eternal. When we set aside ourselves and our excuses, we live into the perfect eternity that we are already a part of.

When I die, will my tombstone say, “This wasn’t on her to-do list,” or will it say, “She loved well.” I’m learning to live for the latter.