One of my mentors in life just blogged about giving this time of year, and it's provoked me to share a memory. I don't want to embarrass anyone, so we'll just say that a couple near and dear to me provided this memory for me.
They had heard of several families who going into the holidays were struggling to make ends meet, and decided on their own to do something about it. They purchased supplies for full holiday meals for each of the families, packaged them up, and attached anonymous notes letting them know that these items came from people who knew and cared about them, and simply wished them a merry and blessed Christmas.
They drove to each house, parked a little ways away, left the packages on the doorstep, rang the bell, and ran back to the car. They waited just long enough to make sure someone received the items, then drove away. No one, other than those who were there, ever knew who did this.
I know I love to get a great gift just like the next person. And I do love to give a good gift, but in my pride, partly I think I like to give great gifts because it's gratifying to me to know that on some level, I'm good. I'm a great gift giver. I don't give just to give, I give for that gratitude that follows the giving. It's still selfish giving. I will always look to this memory as the example of truly selfless giving, that doing good when no one's looking.
I don't remember who those families were. I don't remember what I got for Christmas that year. But I'll always remember that example of how to give.
1 comment:
This may or may not give it away, but I have similar memories to Meg's about those drop and run deliveries. Meg may be too young to remember the times that it happened in places other than New Jersey, but I remember, and they are excellent Christmas inspirations.
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