Blessed to Give

With the busyness of this season, it is good to take time to notice, extend appreciation, and bless others in the process.  Friday night, Archie Alexander went to eat at the IHOP in Conroe.  As he walked in, he talked with some of the students from La Grange who had come to eat after their playoff football game.  Archie was seated at a table by himself.  Soon one of the 8 students came to him and said they had an extra seat and would like for him to join them for dinner.  There was much enjoyable conversation at the meal.  As Archie sat waiting for his bill, the students told him they had already paid the ticket for him.  Archie started to cry and then the students teared up, too.  In his letter to the editor of the newspaper, Archie said, “Often all we hear about is the bad things young people are doing, but y’all are doing the right things in La Grange is all I can say.  I’ll never see these young adults again, but they will never leave my mind.  I lost my wife two years ago.  I don’t think they realized just how strongly their actions influenced me.”

Kathy Ouma, of Middletown, Delaware, has a note and basket of water, canned drinks, and snacks on her front porch for the people who deliver packages during December,

In 1994, when our sons were in junior high and high school, The Little Book of Christmas Joys by H. Jackson Brown, Jr, Rosemary Brown, and Kathy Peel, was reprinted.  The book lists 432 things to do to make a more memorable Christmas for others as well as yourself.  The authors’ hope was that when the ideas in the book were put into practice that, “You might discover that joy almost always comes as a result of giving – giving gifts, giving hugs, giving help, giving a second chance, giving encouragement, and giving of yourselves.”  We decided to see how many we could accomplish.

We took the ideas in the book and then branched out on our own to do random acts of kindness during the month of December.  Sometimes people knew what we did, other times we were “caught” in the act, while other times we were able to be completely anonymous in what we did.  The suggestions in the book inspired us to intentionally look for and take time to do things that would bless others.  It definitely added joy to our Christmas Season.

There are so many ways to bless others.  Someone has designed a calendar to give us ideas.

 

Wouldn’t it be delightful if we chose to look for opportunities to bless others all year long?

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:3-4

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Hebrews 3:13

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

James 1:22