Joy in Giving

 December 3, 2020

They were like two newly engaged young women, smiling and giddy with laughter that spilled from their lips as they waved their hands in the sunlight, catching the flashes of light that glittered from their fingers. Mom had some jewelry she left to her daughter and daughters-in-law. We were sorting through the few things she left behind. There wasn’t much; mom wasn’t born with a silver spoon in her mouth, and she didn’t die with one, either. The only stuff of any real value was a few pieces of jewelry. Two diamond rings were the focus of attention; one on Linda’s hand, and one on Judy’s. What made it really special was seeing Judy’s joy. Nearly forty years ago while working on the farm, she suffered the loss of the diamond from her own engagement ring. As you might imagine, they looked everywhere, but a farm is probably about the worse place to lose something as small as an engagement diamond. The stone mom left sits in Judy’s setting, reflecting her smile in a thousand flashes of light.

Sitting at lunch, Judy spoke. “It’s too bad mom didn’t give these when she was alive so she could enjoy seeing the happiness.” 

There is a special joy that comes with giving. Jesus himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” and he was right. We’ve been blessed to be on the giving end of things, and even if we don’t get to see the joy it brings to others, we have it ourselves just from the act of giving. People who are only ever on the receiving end never get to know this joy.

On the way home, we stopped to pick up a few things at Sam’s Club in Buffalo. We ended up waiting in line longer than we had expected when a couple a few carts ahead of us tried to leave the store with things they hadn’t paid for. The checker at the door was going through everything in their cart, putting aside one thing after another. I would have thought the policeman standing there would have arrested them, but he just stood by, watching. Maybe New York’s “catch and release” policy doesn’t make it worthwhile for law enforcement to do all the paperwork. One thing I know for sure: this couple doesn’t know the joy of giving.

George Slusser was a wizened little member of our Basom church congregation forty years ago. He was in his eighties at the time, and one day he remarked to me, “Don’t send flowers at my funeral; give them to me now so I can enjoy them.” I would add, “Give them while he’s alive, so you can enjoy seeing him enjoy them.” 

There was joy today, but like Judy, I wish mom could have seen it herself. It’s a reminder to me to not wait to bless others with whatever I leave behind, but instead, to bless them now so I can enjoy it, too.