“Are we going riding today, Mom?” Hope asked as the jumped in van’s sliding door after school on Tuesday.
I nodded and smiled in the rear view mirror.
“YES! Because I bought something for Miss Fran today at ‘store.’ It took all of my money but I just had to get it for her. She’ll love it!”
She unwound the cheap-looking silver bracelet from around the strap of her backpack. It’s glass “sapphires” and “diamonds” sparkled as she handed it to me from the back seat.
“You spent all your classroom money on this?” I asked her.
“Yup. I only had four dollars left and I used it all. I know it’s not real but I think its so pretty. Can we wrap it at home?”
As we drove home I thought about the metal bracelet in my hands which I’m sure was worth no more than 79 cents in real (not classroom) dollars. But to Hope it was all that she had.
She’d earned that money from behaving well, being kind and going above and beyond in her second grade classroom. While some kids hoarded their money until their paper wallets were thick with fake photocopied dollar bills, Hope blew it all yesterday afternoon on someone she loved.
Her generosity overtook any thought of herself. She might not earn anymore classroom money buy the time weekly “store” came around again. She might sit there and wait while the other kids file up to purchase brownies and dollar store-castoffs.
At times Hope’s generosity has been immature (the year she bought three things for me for Christmas and nothing for her father) but now she seems to have graduated into the selectively selfless. And yesterday, her generosity made her do something that might seem foolish, but was in actuality right because it was fueled by love.
I usually count on my own generosity. Chad and I love doing things, buying things, providing things for others. But how often do I spend EVERYTHING on somebody else? Even if I spend a LOT I always have extra for me. I never spend it all.
Is this really generosity? Or is it just good will? Giving everything for the sake of someone else, even if it amounts to a trinket, is the ultimate gift.
Five minutes early for her lesson Hope ran across the dirt road and past the horse stalls, the gate clanking closed behind her.
“Miss FRAN!” she yelled. “I have something for you!”
“I bought it just for you,” as she deposited the small red package into her hands, “with my own money!”
Her teacher opened it, took it out and smiled. “Thank you, Hope,” she said. “I have at least 3 outfits I can wear with this.”
Hope beamed and ran off for a horse brush to begin grooming Lilly.
She didn’t care about the future. She didn’t even care about the present, but only thought about love.
Maybe that is the key to ultimate generosity.
Is generosity hard or easy for you? Have you ever “spent it all?”
The winner of the (in)courage Pleated Poppy giveaway is Kristen. She said:
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Thanks Kristen!
I love this story about your daughter Sarah, how precious that she is cultivating that attitude in her life so young.
I was just telling my sister about a time I “spent it all” when God said GIVE to a certain person in my life. As I retold my story I assured her it was not to exalt myself or inflate my pride. When I gave, it had nothing to do with what was in it for me, it was fueled by love and the sacrifice my God was asking me to make. I never knew if there would be “repayment” and I wasn’t looking for one. At the time, I was living paycheck to paycheck and I gave more than my paycheck away.
The beauty of this kind of giving is that, over the past 10 years, that “seed” has multiplied back to me through the hands of others at least six times that I can remember.
Generosity as the world knows it is not the same as it is in the spiritual world, and I thank God for HIS generosity
i agreee. God’s generosity is bigger than all of ours. He certainly gave EVERYTHING He had. much more than any of us are willing to give. great reminder.
Thank you for sharing this sweet story. It brought tears to my eyes.
What a great post to give us ~ HOPE ~ this time of year. Oh, how I would love to give in this way! It has been a tough year for us…but, one day…it will happen.
Thanks for always sharing your heart, Sarah.
Merry Christmas,
Denise
it brought tears to my eyes too. its hard being convicted by your own kid on the way home from school.
I love your Hope’s generous, caring heart. Precious, precious child. Thanks for sharing that, Sarah. I see where she gets it.
you are too sweet. no, she is the one who is teaching me half the time.
Sarah,
You are so encouraging to me; I am praying some encouragement your way. I seriously look forward to reading your posts every weekday. (Your blog is the only blog I subscribe to, okay when I type it out, it seems creepy & stalker-ish, but I am neither.) I can’t wait for your book to come out, I think you are a very good writer. (and I read alot!)
Love-Oly
i needed that encouragement. especially yesterday. thank you.
This might be the best post you’ve written, in my estimation. It was like being the car watching this all take place.
love you
thanks, honey. that means a lot coming from you.
What a lovely story, and a big hearted little girl you have!
i agree. i told her that just this morning. that one of the gifts that God has given her is her ability to feel “big”. she has one of the most compassionate hearts i know.
love this post…almost as much as i love all my girls & grand-girls…
Jesus is so generous…with absolutely no thought of cost to Himself…that He routinely gives “all He has” at each moment.
why?
doesn’t Jesus care about tomorrow? actually, i don’t think He does. and He calls us to this same “little girl & little boy” way of looking at things.
Jesus doesn’t think about tomorrow’s needs because He knows His Father will care for Him…i think Hope gets this somehow!
would that i were as wise as she.
love you all,
dad
i wish i was as wise as YOU.
The definition of generosity is being ready to give more than strictly necessary or expected. Sounds like Hope’s got this one down. My Joel is like that too. He often gives things “too” meaningful for him to give up. In our eyes, at least. But generosity is his gift, and it’s woven deep into his heart. For him to be satisfied as a child of God, it must become deeply woven into his life. It’s exciting to watch this happening.
Great words. I reflected on generosity myself a few weeks ago: http://bradhuebert.blogspot.com/2009/12/heart-of-giving.html
thanks for the link, brad. i love how you love your kids. its evident.
I am in awe more & more each and every day with God’s lavish, extravagant love for all of us! Incredible isn’t He! Generous…as we lovers of Jesus allow Him to full love on us, filling, flooding us…….then we can in turn be generous as He, extravagant in love, forgiveness, grace, encouragement, etc.
What a different world it would be filled with EXTRAVAGANT, GENEROUS lovers, eh? Like your daughter! What a thot, what a goal! Wow………my heart longs to find such hope that the Church & you & me who make up His Body will be the radiant Bride Jesus is returning for! Hallelujah!
Sarah, I’ve just stumbled upon your blog the last week or so. Great writing, honest, raw, deep, intent, compassionate! Love it!
I’m very blessed by your sharing your heart, your life so openly & honestly going where few dare to trod in this journey as followers of Jesus and learning to love so lavishly as He did!
I take my hat off to you, for openly share your victories & stumblings,
From one woman to another–You go girl! Your words are full of life! You know Jesus and it’s evident!
yes, God’s love is lavish and extravagant. it’s beautiful. and what an example He is, right?
i want to love as lavishly as He does.