Giving without Expecting ANYTHING in Return

Okay, okay, I've learned my lesson.

It is so MUCH better to give without expecting ANYTHING in return.

And let me just tell you why.

I had this HUGE bag of baby clothes that were being added upon weekly.

Only six months worth of baby clothes, thank heavens, because I donated the first three months of clothes to a high school fundraising yard sale a few months ago.

Anywho, I had this HUGE bag of baby clothes(did I say that already?) and most of the clothes, okay, at least half of the clothes were NEW. The rest were very gently used.

So I decided I would try my luck and take this HUGE bag to a store that promises CASH for new and gently used baby things.

"Goody!" I thought, "Maybe I'll have enough dough for a small down payment on a gently used high chair to add to our dining area."

So I dropped this HUGE goody bag off at the store that promises CASH for baby things and I anxiously awaited their call.

I wait overnight, into the next morning and into that afternoon.

Well, by that afternoon I was experiencing such an EXTREME case of head pain that I had to take 800 mg of ibuprofen and lay down my head to see if that would do anything to take the pounding, throbbing, intense pain away.

And it was sometime during that dazey-doze of mine that the phone rings.

And I answer.

And it is a woman from the store who promises CASH for baby things. (Did I happen to mention that the HUGE bag I dropped off was filled with had new and very, gently used baby clothing???)

And here's how the conversation went down:

"Hello."

"Hello, this is the store that promises CASH for baby things."

"Oh yes," I muster, because my head is simply p-o-u-n-d-i-n-g out of my skull and my eyelids are the only things that are protecting my eyeballs from exploding, it hurts THAT bad.

"Um, your total CASH back is $3.38."

"Uh, . . . kay."

"Bye."

THREE DOLLARS AND THIRTY-EIGHT CENTS? Was she serious?

It cost me more in gas to drive that darn HUGE bag of new and gently used clothes to the store that offers CASH for baby things.

And I thought my head couldn't throb anymore than it already did!

And that is where I've learned my lesson to give without expecting anything in return.

Which means from here on out I drop off any and all HUGE bags of new and gently used baby clothes at the local thrift store.

Because it's a heck of a lot more satisfying than $3.38!

On Giving and Receiving

This Christmas season taught me about giving . .

And it also taught me a lot about receiving.

For because I come from a looooong ol' line of pure, unadulterated, die-hard givers.

On both sides of my family.

So it wasn't like I was given a dominant render-service-without-expecting-anything-in-return-exclamation-point gene coupled with a hidden recessive it's-important-to-receive-as-well-as-to-give-so-that-the-person-rendering-service-to-you-can-be-blessed-like-you-are-blessed-when-you-render-service-to-others gene.

Nope.

I got the double whammy of the dominant-dominant "Service to Others Only" gene.

"Take Nada in Return."

And I've been so good at it. . . about taking nada in return, that is.

Because that's wis the legacy of my parents, and my parents' parents, and my parents' parents' parents'.

Givers and Servers they all were.

Not Takers and Receivers.

And here is where this year's Christmas lesson came in for me.

Drum Roll please . . . pah-rum-pah-pum-pum)

There is a reason God wants us to serve others.

He does it because if we didn't think outside of ourselves, we would all be selfish, narcissistic little brats - always thinking of ourselves, constantly feeling sorry for ourselves, finding ways to puff ourselves up yadda, yadda, yadda.

So God, knowing full-well what happens to us in our carnal, natural state, commands us to serve others.

To get out minds off ourselves and our problems and our things.

And place our minds and our hearts in His, by loving and serving His children.

And while we're off doing all we can to obey the commandment to "Do Unto Others," a magnificent transformation occurs.

We start to look outside of ourselves, and feel less sorry for ourselves and more observant of those who are less fortunate than we, and somehow, our nature slowly changes and becomes more like His.

More kind.

More tenderhearted.

More charitable.

And that is where I learned of another commandment.

The one that exhorts us to "Come Unto Him."

Coming unto Christ means, in essence, that we must RECEIVE Him.

And that requires a great deal of humility, especially when "Give" is your mantra and "Receive" is four letter word plus three.

But I'm learning that in how I receive is how I can become even a better giver.

It is first by giving.

And giving some more.

And at times, giving when it seems like there is nothing left to give.

And then, when my heart is sufficiently humble, He then asks others to give unto me.

Which means I can either refuse.

And refusing means I choose not to accept Him.

Or I can receive with a profoundly, broken heart.

Which means I let Him in.

It means I accept Him!

And in this humble receiving I am offered the opportunity to become more like Him.

More kind.

More tenderhearted.

More charitable.

Indeed, I am learning that Christmas is about the giving and about the receiving.

And it lasts all lifetime long.

Remember the Receiving

I will not lie when I say there have been dark times in my life when I was certain I couldn't go on.

Certain that no one really could know the depth my pain or the height my despair except God Himself.

And He did.

He always sent help.

His help has come to me in the kind, thoughtful service of others.

Those divine acts of love and mercy have made deep, everlasting impressions upon my heart. Impressions that can't be erased, but can only be remembered as I give in return.

That's why I've joined with so many others in supporting this month's cause to raise money for single moms. (See my sidbar widget!!!)

While there are lots of statistics out there about single moms (CLICK HERE),the bottom line is I want to show the Lord, in my small way, that I do remember His kindnesses towards me.

And this month this is how I'm choosing to do it.

Will you remember a time when the Lord has been kind to you. Perhaps even overly kind and downright merciful?

Will you remember how you felt?

How humble and how joyful?

In that same spirit of receiving, will you give?

Maybe today you can only afford to give a dollar.

Then just give a dollar.

Perhaps today you can give a little more.

Then give a little more.

Whether giving big or small, if we remember how our hearts felt in our times of humble receiving, I am certain that we will be filled with His love, even charity, as we bless the lives of single mothers who will be able to do incredible things for themselves and the ones they love!