Are You or Your Children Natural Givers?
What is the point of giving
anyway? Is it to feel good inside? Is it to help build a strong community? Is it
to see what you get in return? A wise
man once said “Happiness doesn't result from what we get, but from what we
give.” ― Ben Carson. Giving is essential in order to live a long
happy life. I haven’t always been a
giver of money but love to give other things.
After getting married to a
natural giver and having our first child, we decided to give by taking an angel
from a tree in the mall, buying that angel a gift and returning it to that
tree. That felt really good. Did we get anything materialistic in return,
no but we got the feeling of happiness.
I remember this day as if it were yesterday because when we put the gift
under the tree we had our, at the time, 2 year old daughter put the gift under
the tree. I didn’t know if she is truly
a natural giver or not but you can definitely nurture someone into being a
giver.
The following year, some friends
of ours were having financial difficulties do to an automobile accident. These friends always prepared a beautiful
meal for Thanksgiving but couldn’t afford to do so this particular year. We decided that we would buy all of the
necessary ingredients to make a complete meal for the family which included the
turkey, side dishes, and desert. At that
point we weren’t sure if the family had milk, butter, eggs, etc. So we decided that we would get those
ingredients as well. We put everything
in a cooler and after dark we placed it on their porch so they could continue
to carry on their traditions as normal.
To this day it has been an anonymous gift and we know it was the right
thing to do.
Going through the Financial Peace
University classes (http://www.daveramsey.com/fpu/home/) and volunteering to help teach the classes
has been such a blessing in our lives because I look at money differently
now. We recently started to give, yes
give, our money away. We had no
reservations about doing it either the way we had in the past. My husband and I truly look forward to the
day that we have made it through all of the baby steps and can give like never
before.
The best part about this whole
process is that our children have been on the ride with us the whole entire
time. So even if they aren’t natural
givers they will see us give and give and give some more. This will aid in the process of making them
givers. They too will be able to live in
happiness because of their willingness to give.
(https://www.smartmoneysmartkids.com/) This past Sunday, our daughter emptied out
her give envelope into her tithes envelope and was so excited to take it to the
president of our church. She had no
hesitation in giving her hard earned money away and she is seven years
old. My husband and I are very proud of
her and her willingness to give to others.
We have been and will be able to continue to show them that giving comes
in all shapes, sizes, and forms. There
are different types of giving for different ages, you must choose what is best
for you. Children learn by the examples
in their lives; if you want them to give you must pave the way.
