April 03, 2009

Paying It Forward

Hubby and I have been very blessed in the last year, not necessarily financially, but he still has a job, so I guess that counts too. Last year, Hubby's company cut bonuses/ commissions, and for salesmen who work to make a commission, that was a big cut. Then, one of his customers gave him a monetary Christmas gift. His customer! That is just unheard of, usually it is the salesman who gives out gifts to the good customers at Christmas. Since that is not a company reimbursed item, Hubby has always paid for these little gifts out of his commissions, knowing the goodwill gesture would be good for business. Usually he gave snack trays or some kind of Christmas food items, but this past Christmas, our finances were too tight for him to do that.

It was a real surprise for him to receive this gift from a customer, and even though it would have been really helpful to use it for our Christmas, Hubby prayed about it and put it away until there was a need, either by us or someone else. Since then, he has been able to pay it forward, and giving without obligation or acknowledgment has given him far more. Now it's my turn.

I am a forum junkie. When I'm online, I'm usually gabbing with online friends about an area of interest we share. I visit different forums for different interests, from art to small scale farming. This year, a couple of people on these forums have gifted me, one with a subscription and one with the offer of labor. These are people I have never even met in person. Both are people whose posts are always helpful and considerate and I am deeply touched that such people would make these offers to me. Now it just happened that two other people whom I have also never met but have come to respect and admire have had a crisis thrust upon them and I have the opportunity to pay it forward.

Isn't it great how God teaches us about giving by being on the receiving end and then shows us an opportunity to put it into practice?

Marti

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