A Giving Spirit - The One Year Daily Acts of Kindness Devotional

A Giving Spirit

Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.

Luke 6:38

“Hey, wanna join me on a radio show after lunch?”

I froze, my eyes growing round as I stared at my friend.

My friend is extravagantly generous and completely random like that. She is the executive director of a small nonprofit in town and had been given the opportunity to share on our local talk-radio station about how assistive technology could keep senior citizens in their homes longer.

Her invitation was sincere, and later that day I found myself being introduced to the radio host and settling myself into a corner of the on-air studio, assuming that my role would be small and that of a supporting character in the interview. As it turned out, the host introduced me and my law firm each time we broke for sponsors and again as we returned to the air—which was easily hundreds of dollars in free radio advertising.

Though I was initially hesitant because I’d had no time to prep and I felt nervous about being on live radio, it all went fine, and my friend and I shared one last chuckle in the parking lot afterward before we slipped into our cars and went back to our respective offices. As I recounted the unexpected adventure to my husband that evening, my thoughts turned again to the value of the radio time my friend shared without hesitation.

While we don’t often have the chance to work together, my friend is a consistent cheerleader in my life. She is a strong leader, and she is always looking for ways that everyone can win. There is no competition with this friend; she is unabashedly and wholeheartedly collaborative in everything she does. She is a beautiful example of a woman who embodies the giving spirit described in Luke 6:38. Her generosity with her time, her talents, and her resources has impacted thousands of lives, and I strive to be more like her.

—Julie

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Consider what resource you can share with someone, and then do it.