For years I didn’t donate very much to charity. Perhaps when we became financially independent I began to feel safe. In recent years I’ve been donating a lot. And it’s fun!
A month or two ago a group of missionaries came to our church and spoke about their experiences. They set up a table selling religious trinkets to benefit their cause. I really didn’t want anything except a stretchy bead bracelet with a cross on it. It was $3 I think. I wrote a hefty check and left the change. They were astonished, which was fun. I think it’s now the most expensive bracelet I own!
We also write checks to a free health clinic, a foreign orphanage, a food pantry, and housing for the elderly poor, and support for injured military and their families, and our church. The checks are pretty large- my husband winces when he sees them come through the account, but we are incredibly blessed and I think we should share at least some of our good fortune with others who don’t have as much.
Generally I’m cheap, but after the checks I just wrote, that seems a little silly. I guess being cheap the rest of the year excuses generosity in December…
Merry Christmas to you and yours-
