We were at the Chamber of Commerce First Friday Luncheon when they announced that our United Way Campaign had gone over the top this year! One company actually matched the gifts of all their employees and that might be what did it! How special is that?
This has been a major learning experience for me, personally. Probably the first thing I learned was not to even think about guessing if someone might give or how much they might give. I was in for a few surprises.
Many did not worry about receiving a lunch; they only thought about their fellow man in need.
If we look around us; if we listen well - we can soon see that there are a lot of people not doing as well as they have in the past. Some people have lost their jobs. Some people have been stricken with diseases. That part is easy to learn.
Let me tell you a nice thing that hopefully will touch you as it did Hubby and me.
Some people have so much love (charity) in their heart that they do not skip a beat. That was the awesome part for me to see. People just heard the need, left the area, and came back with cash or check.
Others simply reached into their pocket and pulled out a couple of bills - folded and smiled without saying much of anything.
Yes, some people were not so generous and yes, some people avoided me entirely. But I am not thinking about those people. They have their reasons and perhaps they are really having trouble these days.
One thing that is a real problem is healthcare. Most of us . . . especially if we are older . . . are paying big premiums to supplement medicare and we are finding it hard to pay the prescription costs or special treatment costs. I hear that a lot.
As a "Yonge-Street-Texan", this is a big difference for me to fathom because healthcare and prescriptions for seniors is covered in Ontario. In defense of the American system, I should be fair and tell you that the wait times for surgeries and treatments in Ontario are long.
The longer I live, the more I keep learning . . . about people, about love, about hard times . . . but I do keep on learning. That truly makes for a beautiful life.
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not
reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
