There are moments in everyone's life when you are just so overwhelmed by generosity that you lose all words except a simple "thank you." I experienced that tonight. At the YMCA, there's a program called Y Guides and Y Princesses. This is a program that seeks to build father/child relationships, teach solid character traits, and foster a respect for God's creation. In short, it is a wonderful program! When I have kids, I would love for my future husband to do the Y Guides/Y Princess program with them.
Anyway, one of my Y kids and his father are involved in Y Guides, and they invited me to their last official meeting tonight. Thank you, Stingray Warriors, for inviting me to your tribe meeting! They had told me that they wanted to donate their wampum to the Race, which humbled me to begin with. I knew that wampum was the money that they collected all year and donated to a cause or charity at the end of the year. So I was so touched they wanted to donate it to me. But nothing prepared me for tonight's meeting.
I sat there as these sweet boys stood up one by one and clutched their money in their hands. They each shared how they earned their wampum for the week. One boy took out the trash. Another helped his dad spread mulch in the yard. Yet another helped his brother. Then they turned their money over to one of the dads to go into the wampum fund. I listened to these kids proudly share their good deeds and hard work, show off the money they earned, then joyfully give it into the wampum fund. And I was broken. It was all I could do not to sob. It touched me so much. To some people, the grand total of $132 of wampum collected throughout the year doesn't seem like much, but as they handed over this wad of ones and fives, I saw something different. I saw the hard work these boys put in to earn this money. I saw the sacrifice it was for them to give up something they worked so hard for. I saw the joy they had in sharing what they earned, and the excitement they shared about the World Race. All my words vanished (which didn't make for a great presentation, but it's not really about me, is it?) and it was all I could do to hold it together in front of the men and the men-in-training.
So many times, we think that what we have to offer is small and unimportant. When we look at a sum of $15,500, it seems astronomical. And the thought of donating $2 or $5 seems like nothing. To some, it might be embarrassing to only be able to give that amount. But to these children, this money seemed like a lot. And all year, they faithfully gave up what seemed like a lot of money every week to work towards a goal. And when they reached that goal, they gave the money away. If that's not impacting their young lives, I don't know what is. What a great picture of what God does! He takes our smallest gifts, our hard-earned prizes that don't seem like much, and He turns them into phenomenal, far-reaching ministry. I can't help but be reminded of the woman Jesus blessed for giving a very small amount as a temple gift, because it was all she had. Or the boy who gave up his lunch to Jesus and saw it turn into enough food to feed 5,000. When we give God all we have, whether monetarily, spiritually, physically, or emotionally, He turns it into something great. He blesses us for sacrificing for Him. And He blesses those around us who witness our willingness to say, "Whatever, whenever Lord!" Oh that I could follow the example these children have set! On this Race, I want to be sold out for God, willing to give Him whatever I have so He can use it for His glory.
From the depths of my heart, thank you so much, Stingray Warriors. May the Lord bless you for your generosity, sacrifice, and joy. I am so excited to partner with you on this journey, and I look forward to sharing with you what God does with your priceless gift. I will treasure this night for the rest of my life. Thank you for teaching me the lesson of joyful giving!
