Wednesday Wonder – November 6, 2024

Generosity

Both Thanksgiving and Christmas tend to make me think of generosity. These two holidays tend to bring out the generous side of our Spirits. When we are thankful for what we have, we tend to want to share it with others. When we think about the gift we received from God at Christmas we want to gift others. Remembrance Day is a wonderful reminder of generosity. How generous were all those who served? Lest we forget. But what about the rest of the time?

Generosity is considered one of the gifts of the Spirit. What does generosity look like every day, not just on holidays? What makes us generous, or not? These are things I wonder about regularly as I watch generosity lived out, or not.

This year, I observed the generous Spirit of the people of Kingsview as we crammed food into a police cruiser, and this past Sunday as people reached out to take a bag to help with one of the new outreach initiatives. Even though we are done collecting food to put in that cruiser, our food donation box never seems to be empty. Generosity is obvious and wonderful to see in this way.

But what other ways can we see generosity? I have experienced great generosity from our congregation over the last few months. No end of people offering to give of their time and talents, especially those involving food! Yep, still lots in the freezer to keep me going when I just don’t feel like cooking.

And yet, there is more. The generosity of time continues through work on committees, support of fundraisers, even being willing to give up a couple of hours to come to Bible study. I don’t claim to be an expert at leading groups or of the part of the Bible we are presently studying, but everyone who attends gives of their time to read and be prepared and then to share thoughts and ideas with one another. That too is a form of generosity.

All around us are small ways of being generous. Letting someone go ahead of you in line at the checkout in the store because they look a little tired or harried. Giving a parent a smile of understanding as they deal with a child who is having a meltdown, right there in the middle of the aisle. Or not honking at the person in front of you at the light the minute it turns green. One of my struggles, if I am honest. Really, are they looking for a specific shade of green?

We are generous every day. Do you even realize when you are being generous? That smile you gave without thinking, that hand you offered to steady someone, that kind comment you made, these are all generosity lived out. Taking the time to read Wednesday Wonder, and in some cases send a note of gratitude for it, those are generosity in action. It is nice to know people are giving of their time to read something I wrote.

We are often more generous than we realize. We shrug it off as ‘just what a nice person does’ or some such, and we don’t give ourselves credit for being generous. Give yourself credit more often. You are using one of the gifts of the Spirit. Just because it enlarges your heart and Spirit when you do it, does not mean you weren’t generous today.

And most important, be generous to yourself. We often hear it being said as being kind to ourselves. That kindness is generosity to self. We all have good days and not so good days. Generosity of Spirit means you can tell yourself that today, you need to receive more generosity than you give. That’s okay. Tomorrow it may be your turn to give.

Peace,
Rev. Mary-Jane