The Art of Giving

This time of year we see a lot of two things; people who willingly give and people who can only think of their wants.

I ran to the grocery store tonight to get a few essentials for hunkering down during the blizzard...cookies, cheese & crackers, and some cider. Standing in line to pay for my necessities I witnessed something that touched my heart and opened my eyes to the needs of those around me. There were two people ahead of me in line. At the front was a man with a butt-load of groceries obviously following the Thanksgiving shopping list his wife gave him. Between us was a woman in a military uniform. She had an average amount of groceries and was obviously also planning for her Thanksgiving feast. The store was packed and the cashier was trying to get people checked out as quickly as possible. As she scanned the last of the man's items he motioned for her to continue and said he wanted to put the military womens groceries on his bill as well. The groceries were scanned and the man paid for everything. Picking up her sacks and heading for the door she tried to thank him but his only response was, "No, thank you!"

I am grateful for those who have mastered the art of giving. Those who give without thinking and without expecting anything in return. This time of year truly is about giving. I tend to look at my life and all the things I don't have and forget that there are others out there who have a lot less than I do. There are people who go without and sacrifice so much so that I may have the basic necessities that I take for granted as well as the extra goodies that I think are necessities. We all have something that someone else needs. Let's take some time this holiday season to give.