Filed under: Thought:
Thought: When did charity (giving, taking, appreciating, asking for) become a dirty word? One of my dreams in life is to be just well-off enough to sponsor groceries for a handful of families - just good, local, organic food for a few people - but after telling a passing acquaintance this months (if not years) ago, they asked me if I really thought people would take my charity (a word spit out, curled around the tongue and found to be bitter). When did pride take precedence over hope, thankfulness, and respect? Is it this way around the world? Is it this way in your community? Can I really say I am graceful when given charity (be it in friendship or in material things)? Is it more godly to give, or to receive, with poise?
As I am waking, my daughter fitful in sleep beside me, I wonder if love is a kind of charity, and if I am able to receive it as a gift, if I am able to give it without expectations, and why all love, all charity, is not this easy, seamless, comforting.
