Random Thoughts

“God’s gonna bless you for this.”

“God bless you, dear.”

I was told these words several times tonight. And every time it was said I thought, He already has.

I don’t talk in depth about religion/faith/spirituality too much on here and I won’t start now. My walk is my own crooked, sometimes stop and go walk and your walk is your own. But I do find it necessary to scrape the surface of this topic from time to time, so follow me for just a moment if you will.

No matter what religion or spiritual path you follow, I believe that they all have some basic things in common – faith, hope, charity, and love. I’ll focus on charity for now. Charity doesn’t have to be some grandiose thing. It can be a simple act of kindness: holding the door open for someone else, making room for another person to fit in the elevator, including someone in your positive thoughts or prayers, or smiling at someone as you pass to acknowledge their presence. It can also be as extravagant as you’d like: giving a kidney to someone, or donating millions to build a community center. So long as it involves being kind to another person, I think it’s charity. To that end, it’s very easy to do.

Blessings? Favor? I’ve got mine and a bit more to spare. Why wouldn’t I share? I think this is a part of my walk. Personally, my charitable acts aren’t done in order to be praised by others or blessed by the most high. They are done as acts of praise BECAUSE I am blessed!

If you’ve been keeping up with my sparse posts for the last few weeks you’ll recall that I adopted a family for the holidays. I’m so excited about this service venture that it’s all I can talk about lately. I pray that by sharing what I’m doing it will encourage others to do good deeds not just during Christmas, but year round. I also pray that this doesn’t come off as me showboating. As in, “look how cool I am because I’m giving gifts to strangers for a good cause.” That is certainly not my intention. This is my first time doing something like this and I think that adds to all of the excitement I have. I blog and tweet … oh yeah and vlog about it mostly so I can document what I did, how I did it, and to remember the warm and fuzzy feeling I have while I’m in the act of service. Now that may be very much against the Non Sibi, or not for oneself, protocol… But I think reminding myself of how awesome helping others truly is will help me to continue doing it with a smile.

I’ll admit I had some fears and several questions going into this. Eventually, I found my way and figured out some answers that satisfied me so that I could finish what I started.

Q: What if I can’t afford to give them everything on their list?

A: I found that by using coupons, Groupons, gift cards, and holiday deals, the money I allotted for gifts was able to stretch far more than I could have ever imagined. It was as though once I set the wheels in motion by buying the first gift, the savings kept coming to allow for many more gifts to be purchased. Trust me when I say this was one of my most financially savvy holiday seasons to date. Service and savings? Winning!

Q: What if I can’t find an item on their list?

A: The Mom created a list based on items she found online a few days before Thanksgiving. I went shopping in earnest on Black Friday and found that many of the items were no longer available online or in brick and mortar stores. So, I did my best to substitute for those items in a way that I deemed to be suitable. For example, I searched online and a good 5 stores in vain for these Gap boots for the darling daughter of the family.

Instead of providing the child with no boots, I decided to search for a pair of that was similar in style (black & tall) and quality (genuine leather). What I actually found and purchased, in my humble opinion, were much more sturdy and stylish.

Q: What if they don’t like their gifts?

A: Who doesn’t like gifts? Especially gifts that you received off of your personally written wish list? In the case of the substitution items, I did my best. But I will provide the Mom with all receipts and order forms to make darn sure that all items can be easily returned or exchanged without hassle. It certainly won’t hurt my feelings if she returned or exchanged anything for something that she thought was better. I say, good for her! Go nuts! Get what you want!

@Singlema recently wrote a touching post about holiday giving that further encouraged me to continue doing what I’m doing. Honestly, after reading what she wrote all of my trepidations have disappeared and I’m adding a few more items to my to-do list for the family. I also try to remember what @oldgirlladylee often says about intentions.

Are my intentions good in this endeavor? Yep! I have just about every single thing I need and want, so why not help someone else have some of the same?

Am I doing this so folks will praise me for my acts? Nope. I’m good with what I’m doing for others so far and I can’t wait to do more. I also hope many of you will do some type of good deed for someone else soon, for that is Non Sibi at its finest!