Giving

Picture with Kathy without boots

“…if it is contributing to the need of others, let him give generously…”
Ro 12:8

One of our friends from college paid us a visit with her two children over the holidays and she gave me two hundred dollars to buy a pair of boots before they left. “It will make you taller,” she said to me jokingly.

I have been looking for a pair of “platform shoes” to elevate my height for quite some time now, but most of the shoes that I have bought were from thrift stores with heels well-worn and shoe laces thinning.” I am getting myself a pair of boots this time for sure,” I assured myself.

Equipped with two one-hundred dollars bills, I drove to “Boot City” down Nineteen Street off the Loop by myself and picked up a pair of brown leather boots with one and half inch heels. I felt like a true Texan when I put them on and walked around the store and, most importantly, I did feel a little taller. The shoes probably pushed me up close to my wife’s height. I was excited. I bought the shoes, but thought better of it when I was debating whether to purchase a cowboy hat or not, deciding that I probably would look ridiculous with the hat on. It would cover half of my face and I probably would look like a clown. Being short is no shame, but trying to fake height by adding a different apparatus on myself sure is.

I went out to eat with my wife that night with my new Levis and boots on, and for the first time I felt I was about the same height as my wife. I was pretty jolly.

If happiness could be purchased, my friend probably had done the job. They were the most expensive pair of shoes that I have ever bought, as far as I can remember. I would never have done it without her generous help. After paying for the shoes, I still had some money left. What should I do with the leftover? I questioned.

I should have given it to Kathy, for my friend probably meant it for both of us. But I resisted the idea because I really needed a little green to make my wintry heart a bit more colorful. A little cash in my pocket does warm my heart and makes me more cheerful. “Most people my age are probably dealing with stocks and bonds, yet I am still handling dollars and cents,” I said to my friend jokingly. But come to think of it, I am a lot better off than this guy who often frequents our house and asks us for a few dollars.

“Do not give him cash. He may take the money to buy drugs,” some people warned me.

“Well, that might be a risk worth taking. What if he is truly hungry?”

Kathy gave the same guy a twenty dollar bill a while ago, and the man said to her joyfully: “I am going to “Jumbo Joe’s” to get myself a good meal!”

I was able to buy a pair of shoes with the money given to me and it brightened my day a little bit; and the homeless man was able to buy a good meal that he might have yearned to have for some time. When we give money away generously, nothing but goodness will take place.

“What should I do with my cash?” I reached down to the bottom of my pocket and felt the smooth texture of my change from the hundred dollar bills.

“Well, I will probably keep it for another day,” I decided.