It’s really easy, during any transition, to go into hunker-down mode. Almost instinctively we try to save, build reserves, and (dare I say) hoard to make sure we’re protected from storms that could be on the horizon or just around the corner.
When Dan lost his job a couple of months ago, we were tempted to hold tightly to what we had. Separate from being wise with our resources, his job loss would have been an easy excuse to get out of being generous with other people. What we decided, though, is that we wouldn’t let this set back keep us from the experiencing the joy that comes with giving.
I know it’s cliché to say that it’s better to give than to receive, but we both know that generosity is designed to build our own character and we want our daughter to see and experience the gift of giving. It’s only through hard times that we really get a chance to grow in certain areas, and this is a season when we’re growing in faith and trusting that what God is doing in our hearts in the area of giving could not be done at any other time.
Generosity looks different depending on what you have to give, but don’t always default to the easy thing. We have a surplus of avocados, so I can certainly offer those to friends and family, but it’s easy to give away something we don’t need (or want). The hard thing is to dig deep and hold loosely even to those things we really like.
We’re learning what generosity looks like for us during this new season. But, we continue to look back and see that even when we give things away, somehow we always end up with more than we started with.
Frugalonomy 