What are you GIVING during this Season?
What are you GIVING during this Season?
I am blessed to be able to see the world through the eyes of my children, especially in this time of isolation and fear. They see the GOOD and they can GIVE in ways that touch my heart and give me hope for the future.
Turn off Netflix or stop cleaning the pantry for a moment of love and acceptance I experienced recently. My oldest son lost another tooth this week. Luckily, he has no problem pulling his teeth himself! I learned quickly, 6 teeth ago, that I am very clumsy and cannot navigate his room in the middle of the night without knocking over a castle of Lego’s or stepping in slime. So, I convinced him that we would have a special cup in the
china cabinet for the tooth to go and the tooth fairy can easily find it. And, for this 6th tooth, he put it in the cup. And morning came – and the tooth was still there. Yes, I am admitting a total #momfail. I simply forgot! I braced myself, expecting him to be upset or to question the tooth fairy. But he turned to me and said, “Mom, it’s okay, remember the President told us to all stay home right now – and the tooth fairy probably needs to too.” Then, he drew a note to the tooth fairy with the tooth in a cup and the words, “it is ok.”
What he did in that moment, was GIVE GRACE. He thought he was telling the tooth fairy that it was ok. But what he was really doing without knowing it, was telling me that it was ok, and he was extending grace to me. That act and that thought has been on my mind all week, and I thought that maybe others needed to hear an example of what a simple act of giving can look like, how it can literally fill someone else’s cup.
So, what are you giving during this season?
I fully acknowledge we are in a hard season. But instead of GIVING IN to the anxiety and the fear, what if we concentrated on GIVING OUT to those whose need is greater than our own.
I hope that you have seen the inspirational things going on around us that are pulling us together and showing what true COMMUNITY looks like.
- We’ve seen first responders and hospital employees who are on the front lines, GIVING their all to helping people whose bodies have been affected by the COVID-19.
- School systems are finding ways to GIVE food to children who might not have enough food at home.
- One of my favorite things to read on the internet is this Good Neighbors blog, to learn of what people outside of my circle are doing to GIVE back to others.
- At NGCF we see people GIVE generously to our COVID-19 Relief Fund and being able to steward those funds directly out to meet critical needs through our amazing nonprofits.
- And, we see the sweet moments of GRACE, with children and adults alike as they stand outside and wave as teachers drive by in a slow moving parade of love and connection.
That list can go on and on, of the GOOD we are see seeing GIVEN during this season we are in. This season that we will come out on the other side of, together. And I hope that the giving never stops when we do emerge from this – that we keep finding these ways to give back to others.
So, again, how and what are you giving? Do you have the skills to sew a face mask? The financial means to give to others? A minute of your time to give to call someone who just needs to hear another voice? And are you giving grace and understanding to others?
I encourage you to GIVE. Whatever you have and whatever that means to you. To find a way to keep your faith, walk in love and give abundantly.
Megan Martin
NGCF VP, Marketing & Development