A Lesson in Generosity
This morning, Andy and I had to eat a slice of humble pie.
This morning Liam came to us with a story.
"The first graders are raising money to build schools."
Okay, cool man. We want to know more.
Which class? Both first grade classes? What organization? What country? How long are they collecting money? Do you know how much they have collected so far? Why haven't we heard more? Why don't you know more? Do you know how fundraising works?
We berated him with questions. Explained fundraising. Talked circles over him. Over and over.
His posture changed. His face changed. He wasn't listening. His wall was up.
We were frustrated and so was he. He sulked back to his room.
And in the quiet we heard the rustling of change.
He was digging through his room, finding all the change he could muster.
He looked up and said...
"I just want to give"
Boom. There it was. Humble pie. Served cold.
To Liam the logistics of it all didn't matter. He saw an opportunity to give and felt the desire in his heart to do so. We have long taught our children the importance of generosity. We give our time and resources. When we see a need, we fill it as best we can. And in our cynicism, we missed the point entirely.
He reminded us this morning that we don't need all the information to be generous. That our heart calls us to give and we act on it. It is in the season we can get caught up in the materialism that we are blinded by the many opportunities to give to others. For a moment this morning, we forgot our own lessons. With the rustling of change and a slice of pie, our son gave us a lesson in generosity.
This morning Liam came to us with a story.
"The first graders are raising money to build schools."
Okay, cool man. We want to know more.
Which class? Both first grade classes? What organization? What country? How long are they collecting money? Do you know how much they have collected so far? Why haven't we heard more? Why don't you know more? Do you know how fundraising works?
We berated him with questions. Explained fundraising. Talked circles over him. Over and over.
His posture changed. His face changed. He wasn't listening. His wall was up.
We were frustrated and so was he. He sulked back to his room.
And in the quiet we heard the rustling of change.
He was digging through his room, finding all the change he could muster.
He looked up and said...
"I just want to give"
Boom. There it was. Humble pie. Served cold.
To Liam the logistics of it all didn't matter. He saw an opportunity to give and felt the desire in his heart to do so. We have long taught our children the importance of generosity. We give our time and resources. When we see a need, we fill it as best we can. And in our cynicism, we missed the point entirely.
He reminded us this morning that we don't need all the information to be generous. That our heart calls us to give and we act on it. It is in the season we can get caught up in the materialism that we are blinded by the many opportunities to give to others. For a moment this morning, we forgot our own lessons. With the rustling of change and a slice of pie, our son gave us a lesson in generosity.
Amen 💞
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