Friday, October 17, 2008

The Joy Of Giving

A few days ago a van slowly pulled to the curb in front of my house. A young girl got out and came to my door. She had the sweetest smile and quickly asked if I would allow her and her aunt to have some of my flowers for something special they were doing at their church. I told her I would love to share them with her. She pointed to the hydrangeas at the end of my house so we walked toward the fall beauties that had caught her eye. I waved and motioned to her aunt to come join us and soon we stood together looking at my big display of gorgeous flowers. The colors were breathtaking!I cautioned them of two things - a place where the ground seems to have fallen away at the edge of the flowerbed and a sprinkler standing tall just in front of the shrub and I asked if they would leave a few for me. Their joy at my gift to them and the celebration at their church seemed nearly overwhelming. It wasn't long until they had gathered two armloads of stems, waved their appreciation and drove away with incredible smiles on their faces. They left so many blooms for me - I wish they had taken more!My heart was full of joy! There is something so special about giving to others. It was such a small gift, really. No big sacrifice! They will never know the gift they gave to me - the pleasure of giving with a happy heart - a grateful heart. The truth of Scripture still rings in my heart - it truly is better to give than to receive!

13 comments:

  1. Oh that was such a sweet simple post it brought tears to my eyes. It really is better to give than to receive. And, with approaching cool weather your blooms wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway.
    I must tell you I have never seen such a beautiful purple color hydrangea before. Just beautiful.

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  2. A wonderfully, joyful moment you shared. How sweet to share God's bounty :-)

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  3. Oh how lovely Adrienne!I adore hydrangeas...Blessings~Sharon

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  4. How sweet you are to share...
    I so adore hydrangeas. I have none growing in my yard, but there is one next door that I photograph every year.

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  5. What a wonderful reminder that we can bring joy to others and share the love of God in such simple ways. ;)

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  6. They made your day, and you made their's. That is what life is all about.

    And, no you have made our day, too.

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  7. Adrienne, this post tugged at my heart! So sweet.

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  8. That's just wonderful! I love it when I hear of sincere acts of unexpected kindness.

    I just read your profile and I'm a big Sound of Music fan too! In fact, it's my all time favorite musical.

    Your hydrangea's are gorgeous...lovely shade of lavender!

    Enjoy your weekend!!

    Adriann

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  9. Adrienne,
    That is so interesting that we had the same doll house. I couldn't believe it when I saw it there, I had already bought a few cute things, and then there it was. yipes! Well I had to get it, right?
    I love love hydrangeas! I don't have enough sun here to grow them, we have to many big ole maple trees. But I bought some dried ones at a craft show years ago and kept them for the longest time until they went to pieces. I do believe now that you have put them in my head again I will see if I can find some. That was so nice of you to let those women have some of them.
    NANCY JO

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  10. They received a big blessing when they knocked on YOUR door! To think some people could have been insulted to be asked! You are so sweet and generous and sharing like that makes you even more special!

    Those hydrangeas are just gorgeous!

    Katherine

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  11. Adrienne I couldn't agree with you more that it feels so good to give. Doesn't it just fill you up with joy??? My youngest has outgrown some very, very nice clothes that we wanted to give to someone special and in need. I told her that we should pray that God would reveal to us someone who was really in need. We did and He did. We made their day and I was so thrilled to actually use this as a teaching moment for our youngest daughter to see answers to prayers.

    Blessings,

    Sher

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  12. A beautiful reminder of what giving means and how it makes us feel. It is an unmistakable touch of Grace :)

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