Lesson #2: Generosity

This is a thought that I have had going through my head for months. It stems from a quote from Sister Camilla Kimball, as told in a story by Sister Bonnie D. Parkin. Here is a portion:

" My daughter-in-law’s mother, Susan, was a wonderful seamstress. President Kimball lived in their ward. One Sunday, Susan noticed that he had a new suit. Her father had recently returned from a trip to New York and had brought her some exquisite silk fabric. Susan thought that fabric would make a handsome tie to go with President Kimball’s new suit. So on Monday she made the tie. She wrapped it in tissue paper and walked up the block to President Kimball’s home.

On her way to the front door, she suddenly stopped and thought, “Who am I to make a tie for the prophet? He probably has plenty of them.” Deciding she had made a mistake, she turned to leave.

Just then Sister Kimball opened the front door and said, “Oh, Susan!”

Stumbling all over herself, Susan said, “I saw President Kimball in his new suit on Sunday. Dad just brought me some silk from New York . . . and so I made him a tie.”

Before Susan could continue, Sister Kimball stopped her, took hold of her shoulders, and said: “Susan, never suppress a generous thought.”

Susan didn’t have an assignment to make that tie. She wasn’t hired to do so. Despite feeling a bit hesitant, she did it because it felt right."

-Sister Bonnie D. Parkin, "Personal Ministry: Sacred and Precious," BYU Devotional, 13 February 2007 (emphasis added).

I love this.

I often have thoughts of doing something for others, usually something very small, but I am really good and squashing those thoughts in no time flat. I tell myself things like:

"So-and-So will think I am weird if I do this for them."
"It's so small and meaningless, they won't even notice."
"I have too many other things to do today."
"I don't even know that person that well..."

etc. etc. etc.

I am sure you have found yourself saying similar things.

On March 1, we celebrated Chris's birthday. Jennifer called me that morning to tell me that she and Chris's sisters had decided that to honor him, we would all do some service of some sort that day to remember him. I loved the idea. It gave me an excuse to serve.

In fact, I had a sticky note sitting on my computer that had been there for weeks. On it was listed four or five items of service that I had wanted to do, but kept talking myself out of.

So that Monday, I decided that I was going to do them all and more. Who cares what others think? I didn't know if I was going to have an effect on anyone at all, but I knew I was sure going to try.

Hallie and I spent the entire day in service to others. I normally don't have full days that I can dedicate to serving, but I actually did that day. It worked out wonderfully. I served some people I knew and I served some people I didn't know.

I know that my service was probably small for those receiving it. I don't know how they felt. But, I do know that it was the best day I had had in a long time.

I felt happy. I felt energized. I felt like I had done something to make myself proud.

Since then, I have tried harder to act on the thoughts that I have to do something nice for someone else, even if it puts me out of my "comfort zone".

This is something that I hope will stick with me for a long time to come.

I issue a challenge (no, no, we aren't in church) to you too...to do the same thing. When those thoughts come, ACT on them! Do it. We can all make a small difference in our own little way.

Never suppress a generous thought. Let's see what happens.

(P.S. Two recent posts on the adoption blog.)