BE A GIVER
It was a beautiful day for sightseeing around downtown Portland. A bunch of counselors were on their day off, away from campers, just out for some fun. The weather was perfect for a picnic, so when lunchtime came, they set their sights on a small park in town. Since they all had different cravings, they decided to split up, get what each one wanted and meet back on the grass in a few minutes.
When one of the counselors went to the hot dog stand, her friend accompanied her. They watched the vendor put together the perfect hot dog, just the way Robby wanted it. But when she took out her money to pay the vendor, he surprised them. “It looks a little on the cool side,”he said, “so never mind paying me”. This will be my freebie of the day.”
They said thanks, joined their friends in the park, and dug into the food. But as they talked and ate, a man sitting nearby looking at them distracted them. They could tell that he hadn’t much more attention than that.
They finished eating and decided to head off for more sightseeing. But when they went to the garbage can to throw away their lunch bag, they heard a strong voice ask, “there isn’t any food in that bag, is there?” It was the man who had been watching them. They didn’t know what to say. “No, I ate already.” “Oh,” was his only answer, with no shame in his voice at all. He was obviously hungry, couldn’t bear to see anything thrown away, and was used to asking this question.
They felt bad for the man, but didn’t know what to do. That’s when Robby said, ‘I’ll be right back. Please wait for me a minute” and ran off to the hot dog stand. She brought back a hot dog, crossed back to the trash can, and gave the hungry man the food.
When she came back, she simply said, ‘I was just passing on the kindness that someone gave to me.” “That day,’ said Robby’s friend, “I learned how generosity can go farther than the person you give to. By giving, you teach others how to give also.” We can do the same for each other during this summer season. “Whenever you did it to the least of my brethren, you did it to me.”
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