Generosity

December 6, 2017

After granddaughter Jo’s basketball game today, Linda and I took Abi home so she could get some homework done instead of having to stay for the second game. I asked if she had eaten, and she had not, so we took her to the Superette for dinner. That might have been a mistake, since we had planned on attending the dinner and Advent Bible Study in Cassadaga tonight. There are many things the Superette does extremely well; they are a wonderful asset to our community, not only as the only grocery/gas station/diner in town, but also in their generosity in supporting various community programs and ministries. They are not however, a fast food joint. If you order a meal there, you must be prepared to wait for it. Once it comes, there is lots of it, and it’s very good, but you’ll never get in and out in fifteen minutes. 

On second thought, dinner at the Superette was no mistake. It was God’s timing. Unbeknownst to us, the Superette is upgrading their lighting system. I didn’t ask, but I suspect the men at work were replacing the fluorescent tubes with LEDs. While we were waiting for our meal, one of them was working right next to our table, and we got to talking. The long and short of it is that he is Puerto Rican. We talked about how the recent hurricanes devastated his homeland; he is expecting that one of his sons will shortly join him in the states. He began talking about his hope in God when bad times come. “People who say there is no God have nowhere to turn when things get bad,” he told me. Then he said something that will challenge me for a long time. “There are so many people in need; I live on half my income and give the rest away.” He said this without even a hint of braggadocio; he was simply expressing his gratitude for all he has been given.

At this stage of my life, I am able to give more freely than ever before. God has blessed us beyond measure—I suspect far beyond what this gentleman knows. There is precious little we need, and Linda and I have taken great joy in being able to give.Yet he is the one teaching me what generosity looks like. I am humbled. And I am thankful to have met this electrician who in his simple and unpretentious manner schooled me in the art of giving. He is an unsung hero, and a teacher of the preacher.