Give. No GIMME!

How do we create givers?  It starts with us.

Man I hate that answer.  More work for me as a mom.  I’m thinking, “Haven’t I already given you LIFE?  Fed you?  Bathed you? (well, most the time.)  Taught you how to tie a shoe, even if it meant we missed the bus...for two weeks in a row?” 

So when I hear that there is one more thing for me to focus on, I sigh.  We all know there is no amount of talking a child into giving.  Threatening?  Perhaps.  A 5-minute diatribe on starving children in Africa?  Usually unsuccessful.  

We have to model giving.  And there is no better opportunity to model giving than to our children; we give knowing they cannot repay us.  (Except the one son that will let me move in with him when I am senile and wrinkled...but other than that, you get my heart on this, right?)  We will give 127 times to our children before they give back.  If you don’t have a child, think of a cat.  If you own a cat, you spend all this time feeding it, grooming it, picking up it’s poop out of a box filled with smelly pebbles and what do you get in return?  Some leg rubs when he/she feels like interacting with you and receiving more of your love.  That’s the best example I can give you when we’re talking about the giving ratio of a child.  (If I were talking about love I would give you a dog... if you know me, I own NEITHER... I have children to pet and eventually I don’t have to pick up their poop.)

Giving isn’t always about dollar bills and shiny bows.  Sure, we live in a culture that bombards us with materialism which is somehow morphed into the premise of giving.  How many of us have given your child the VERY thing they begged for, or hoped for… only to seen it tossed aside and forgotten about just 3 days later?  Trust me, this family has a long way to go when it comes to giving.  Read my post about last year's "ungiving" tree to get an idea of what we're dealing with at my house!

The point is, that giving of any resource is the key.  Your love.  Your time. Your energy.  Your wisdom.  Your advice.  It’s the purity of your thought behind the giving that is instilled in your child’s heart forever. 

We don’t give with the end in mind; we give out of love.  I don’t run into a lot of women who introduce their children and then tell me, “Yeah, I had them so they could take care of cleaning the kitchen.”  I am just NOW entering a season where my 10-year-old provides exceptional labor assistance... I have just NOW passed the torch on lugging in the empty garbage cans, emptying the bathroom trash and sorting laundry.  (If you aren’t there ladies... just wait... it’s coming.  And if you have a girl... I’m sure it will come earlier.)  

We give with pure intentions; to demonstrate and model the art of giving.  

Because God gives to us.  Daily.  

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”  -John 3:16

What resource do you love to give the most?  What is the hardest thing to give?  Why do you think the latter is hard for you?