Giving That Hurts

I read this story somewhere - One time a school teacher asked her pupils to bring personal things to their class which will be donated to those who were badly affected by a recent typhoon. The next day, everyone brought their donations. One student named Jack, beaming with pride, showed off his huge bags of old clothes and toys that he collected last night. A lot of his classmates passed heaps of praises and admiration for his big donation. Another student Jill, sitting quietly in the corner, was holding a small plastic bag of her own donations. When it was time for all students to put all their stuffs inside the donation box, the teacher noticed that Jill's gifts appeared all relatively new. Curiously, she asked Jill if she still had to buy her donations because of their new outlook. Jill simply answered that her clothes and toys for donations are her favorite ones and so she was certain that these will be enjoyed by the affected children as well.

Clearly, when it comes to giving, quality giving is better than quantity giving. It is hardly a sacrificial love if our giving does not even leave a small I-want- it-back feeling after it left our hands.

 In the biblical story of the poor widow whom Jesus saw putting a few cents into the church’s treasury, we all know that her few cents represented her all. In all likelihood, she went away with worries how her next meal will come by. And this mattered way more to Jesus’ observant eyes than those who put much larger sums that represents only the proverbial crumbs on their tables.

It’s never too late for you and me to try it one small action at a given time.

When the next typhoon donation call comes, look and choose to give our new or favorite shirt rather than the old worn out one. Or when the next hungry beggar come near us, let us give the hamburger that we are about to take a bite and settle for a biscuit or a candy stuck inside our bag.

  

Indeed, our “best” in giving will always be better than the rest (or our so-called left-over and excesses).

God bless.

Atrophy

It is inspiring to personally witness how my wife’s uncle has literally moved mountains trying to recuperate from his debilitating stroke a few years ago. His miraculous recovery from his over-sea emergency cranial operation and his steel-determined disposition to keep-up with his physical and mental therapies has shown promising progress for him and his family. On the other hand, my wife also has a distant relative who experienced the same head ailment and who has been bedridden for years leading to his legs shrinking in mass and strength due to muscular atrophy.      

I myself have been into writing hibernation the past nine months and two well meaning friends already asked me why. Well, I could always bring out the writer’s block card but the reality is that it has a lot more to do with this year’s major turn in my family and career direction.

It has been nine months since I officially became a part-time OFW, a part-time entrepreneur and a struggling and cramming home-school co-parent/teacher to our Zek, a fourth-grader at CFA. I must admit that I am just barely managing my time ever since. Don’t get me wrong. I do like these challenges and I do love spending more time with my family. On the other hand, the time allotment I have for each planned tasks seemed to have shrunk from a marathon run pre-resignation to a 100-meter dash the last few weeks. And unfortunately, my writing time was one of those that have given way.

I do not wish to suffer writing atrophy so I try harder to manage my time and write again.

By God’s grace, I intend to get back on using this God’s gift for His glory.

As 1 Peter 4:10 says that “as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace”.