I learned generosity from my father. When he was old, my mom often had to call charities and tell them to quit calling and asking for donations of clothing–because he would empty his closet and donate all his clothes and mom would have to buy him a new wardrobe.
I remember one day I was out to lunch with my older sister. We chatted with the waitress who was having a hard time in life. My sister left a HUGE tip – and said, “I can afford to be generous.”
I can afford to be generous.
That echoed in my soul.
I can afford to be generous with kindness. As you may remember, I’ve been working on that for a couple of years (and being back in running a campaign and being under attack has made that a challenge!).
I can afford to be generous with smiles and compliments and expressing interest in those around me.
I can afford to be generous with compassion and empathy.
I can even afford to be generous with understanding–even for those who violently disagree with me.
I can afford to be generous with just flat out paying attention to others around me and their lives. That is hard for me because I’m ridiculously busy and overwhelmed–but that is SO important because I need that from others as well.
I can afford to be generous with second chances–and thirds, and fourths, and on and on.
I can afford to be generous with my time –even when I don’t have much.
And yes, I can afford to be generous with my money. I can generously send money to those doing humanitarian work in Africa (Mothers Without Borders) and those saving unborn babies (Pro-Life Utah and Save the Storks) and those fighting for my freedoms (Libertas Institute) and those spreading the love of Jesus (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and more . . .
I can even generously sprinkle good – be it money, time, excess clothing, ideas, support, etc.
I can afford to be generous. I pray that I will and that we will all choose to be a little more generous this week.
