God outfitted me to give abundantly
Originally appeared on spirituality.com
The landscaping business my husband and I owned in the ’70s failed after a two-year drought. Homeless, we ended up living with Ruth, an older German woman. Ruth helped provide for our needs for seven months, never accepting a dime for food or rent. Instead, she urged us to save our money so we could get started again on our own.
Ruth knew about being homeless. During World War II bombing raids, she and her mother lost their home. Neighboring villagers embraced them, took them in and looked after them. Ruth felt obligated to continue this legacy of giving.
Ruth’s example made me realize that I wanted to carry on the spirit of giving to those in need.
In my spiritual journey and practice of Christian Science, I’ve learned that God is Love and that all of God’s creation is fully supplied with His infinite abundance. Part of this heritage is the ability to express this abundance. The Lord’s Prayer says in part, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Mary Baker Eddy gives her spiritual sense of this line in her book, Science and Health: “And Love is reflected in love.”
Love—God—is reflected in His creation. Since God is the Giver of all good, it’s perfectly natural that His children express the same generosity. This means generosity is a spiritual quality that’s part of each person’s nature as a child of God.
I saw my life was really about recognizing divine Love’s abundance and in turn giving love abundantly, without hesitation, when my prayers led me to do so.
Years later, in the mid ’80s, my husband and I had divorced and I was living with my sister, Heidi. She introduced me to a program for inner-city kids. We became acquainted with two sisters, aged 6 and 10. We visited with the girls every week and were absolutely delighted by their imagination, joy and love.
But after a while, we noticed how sad and quiet the girls had become. Finally, they confided they weren’t going to school because they didn’t have anything to wear. Their mother had been evicted from their government-subsidized apartment and all their possessions were still locked inside. They only had the clothes on their backs.
I wanted to get them some clothes so they could get back to school. I had a little over $100 to spend, but I was unsure how far that would go outfitting two kids. So I prayed to find a way to make a real difference.
I thought back on my friend Ruth and how freely she offered me love and compassion when I needed it. Even though I didn’t have a lot of money to spend, I knew in my heart that both the girls and I were already abundantly blessed by God’s loving nature. I had proven this many times in my life. So I was absolutely sure that this was the right thing to do. As Mrs. Eddy wrote in Science and Health, “Giving does not impoverish us in the service of our Maker, neither does withholding enrich us.”
So we took the girls to a discount department store and discovered it was having a big clearance sale. We bought skirts, blouses, pants, sweaters, socks, underwear—everything but shoes. I rejoiced in this evidence of God’s continuing, abundant care.
And that wasn’t all. On the way home we found a shoe store that sold salvaged goods and overruns. Painted on the window, in huge letters, was this: “Children’s designer leather shoes—99 cents.” Each of the girls received a beautiful pair of shoes.
So, they gained a whole new wardrobe and I didn’t have to break the bank.
The youngest sister looked at me and said, with genuine joy, “I’m going to do this for someone someday, too.” I know she will, if she hasn’t already.
I see this kind of love and provision as absolute evidence of God’s love for all of His children and our ability to reflect that love. It’s a continuous circle of giving.
Thoughts on giving:
Science and Health
79:31-32
17:6-7 (to love)
192:30
King James Bible
Deut. 15:7, 8
Prov. 28:27 (to :)