On my last blog entitled “Giving Challenge” I described how my daughter, Janiah gave up her favorite toy for us to give to a child without toys. Well here’s the rest of the story…and it’s so much better.
We decided instead of having her give us the toy and then we go drop it off at a local agency that it would mean so much more if she could meet and interact with the child she was giving it to. I volunteer at this awesome ministry called Hillcrest Transitional housing from time to time and they enable people who were homeless to get back on their feet.
While I was teaching a class today, Janiah was in another room playing with the children of the residents. For her and them, there was nothing different between them. And the truth is there is nothing different between them.
At the end, Janiah gave her favorite toy, a Stephanie doll (from Lazy Town), to a girl she was playing with. What followed next amazed me! The girl promised my daughter that she would come back the next time and give her a potholder she’s working on. But that wasn’t enough for her. The girl didn’t have anything else to give, so she ripped off her name tag and stuck it on my daughter’s shirt.
You should have seen the excitement on both girl’s faces: the girl was happy to get the doll and Janiah was thrilled with her sticker. You see we had cut out the middle man and learned a few things:
1. We are all equal no matter where we live or what our bank accounts say.
2. Everyone has something to give no matter how little they have.
3. Everyone is in need of something from someone else no matter how much they have.
I think it would do us a lot of good if instead of throwing money and stuff at issues, we actually gave of ourselves and met people. Instead of simply supporting agencies who help people, let’s go beyond and meet people and help them.
Get rid of the middle man. We would all be richer at the end.
Take the Lead 