A few Christmases ago I got it into my head that I needed three things.
1). A winter coat for my daughter. Not a new coat--because I was trying to teach her a lesson for having misplaced the most warm and beautiful fur-trimmed robin egg blue coat (that I had had my eye on all the winter before and played my cards just right to grab at the very last moment and at the very best clearance price)--but something that would keep her relatively warm through the winter.
2). A pool table. Yes, I know pool tables don't just fall from the sky. But my boys were turning into teenagers and they needed something to do for fun with their friends since we don't own a trampoline or a swimming pool or the latest Nintendo.
and 3). Well, my memory is usually a little cloudy about three, but it might have been an outdoor basketball standard. See reason for wanting item two.
So I kept wishing for these three things to just magically appear. And guess what. They did. Two different neighbors handed down two not-so-the-latest-fashion coats. Coats which kept her warm, but were not too cool to keep her from learning her lesson (I hope). Then another neighbor just called out of the blue and asked if I didn't want their pool table--so thankfully they don't fall from the sky, but sometimes they do fall from heaven. And another neighbor gave us their basketball standard. And I was very thankful. Sometimes you do get what you ask for.
This season I have had a couple of opportunities to be generous.
On one occasion I had tickets to the Shakespearean Festival that I really wanted to use, but couldn't before the fall season would end. I was able to totally delight someone I didn't know too well--so she would never have expected them. But she had been ill and needed something to look forward to and it was one of her favorite plays that is not often performed. I was so happy to have just the right gift to share.
And recently I was at a benefit and I wrote a modest check out for someone who really needed the money even though I really couldn't afford it either. I thought twice about my unbalanced bank account. But I wanted to give; so I did.
Imagine my surprise when just this past week--during a time of Thanksgiving--I got back just what I gave. Someone gave me enough comp tickets to take my whole family to Hale Center Theater's "A Christmas Carol." I'm delighted! And I won a random drawing at work and received a gift card for the exact amount of my check.
Although the giving itself is its own reward, sometimes the good stuff comes right back at you as well.
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6 comments:
It's awesome to see how all of that worked out! Wouldn't it be nice to have unlimited funds so we could give whatever necessary to anyone who needed help? But I suppose we can't appreciate the blessing of being able to serve if it doesn't cost us something. Great post! You helped get me in the right holiday spirit... :-)
It's nice when that stuff happens. It doesn't happen every time--but it usually happens enough for us to keep doing it!!
I always think about that when the list comes around to bring a new mommy dinner. I think about how it will make my food budget go over, etc, etc, but then I remember how HAPPY I was not to have to cook or shop when I had Lauren (and even when we brought Jacob home). :-)
Good post.
I totally believe in karma! ...what goes around, comes around... you get what you give... all that stuff. There is even a verse in the Book of Mormon about "...what you send out will return unto you again..." Wish I was a scriptorian so I could tell you where that's at... The most plain manifestation of karma in my life is that fact that when you comment on someone's blog, you are bound to receive one on your own. Let the happy feelings flow!!!
julie--I think the beauty of it is that it's not something that happens everyday, so you notice and appreciate it a little more. One example: It always seems to me that my kids got more excited about and had a lot better time at Seven Peaks the one time in the summer they got to go than all those kids who went there with a season pass and were bored.
bek--I love the new mommy dinner lists--I think we should just do two weeks standard for everyone! One time a friend of mine had surgery and someone said we didn't need to take meals in because she had older kids who could cook. I totally disagreed. I think we take meals in because it's such a simple and caring thing and because it's one of the few things we can do...
susie petunia--thanks for stopping by. I sure have noticed that in my life--and often it comes back tenfold.
Another holiday inspiration. Hmmm A basketball standard...I could use one of those. I'll have get someone to let me have their birthday wish seeing how my birthday has already come and gone.
Update: We just held the Christmas drawing at work and guess what? I won again! This time I got a gift card to Best Buy. Maybe I'll break down and buy the last Star Wars film, which I have been avoiding purchasing because I still feel rotten about never having seen it in the theater. In any case, I am having a lucky streak. Maybe I should head south to Vegas...
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