Advice for My Daughter

Tag: charity

  • Give Privately

    Give Privately

    When people need help, help them whenever you can. If a friend is going through a hard time, give them a hand up. Give to your church, your neighbors, your friends, and to people worlds away whom you’ve never met.

    Whether you give big or give small, there is one secret that I want to share about giving: keep it private.

    Why?

    Because giving is something you do to help someone who needs it. The reward is the joy that THEY receive, not the recognition that YOU receive. Giving is the reward.

    Send money to a friend dealing with a health issue….and don’t tell anyone that you did it.

    Buy breakfast for the homeless man you see on the way to work every day…and don’t tell your co-workers.

    You’ll notice that it feels different when you give without receiving external validation. It’s like a little secret between you and the recipient. A happy secret.

    Be the kind of person who helps when you see a need. Help because it’s who you are, not because of what you get.

    Give regularly.

    Give thoughtfully.

    Give.

     

  • What it Means to Be Rich

    What it Means to Be Rich

    You are rich.

    When I tell you this, you laugh and say that you aren’t. But you are.

    Today we visited The Compassion Experience where we walked through a re-creation of the life stories of children living in poverty.  We walked through their homes and saw the rooms these children grew up in. We heard the sounds of drunk men trying to pound in the door. We learned about child brides and girls dropping out of school at the age of seven so they could work to support the family.

    And we learned that we are rich.

    Being rich means never being hungry. It means that your full-time job is to go to school. It means that you get to choose who (or if) you want to marry. It means that your home is warm when it’s cold outside. It means that you are encouraged to use your voice to help others. It means that you are loved deeply and unconditionally.

    There were children in these stories who were never, ever told that they were loved.

    When you heard that, your mouth dropped in disbelief. Of all the things you saw today, the one thing that was completely outside your understanding, was that a child was not shown love.

    You are loved. You are warm. You are fed. You are empowered.

    And you are rich.

    Image by Zoriah