Reflection: I did my research. What were the perfect pair of shoes for the moment I was to meet people who live in gut wrenching poverty?
I perused my options and finally purchased something on trend with ‘washable polyester webbing, hydrophobic quick dry mesh lining, moulded foot beds – anatomically engineered to provide excellent arch support and cradle the natural contours’ of my foot, and a non-marking rubber outsole with multi directional lug pattern for grip. As you do.
The absurdity of it was not lost on me.
It struck me even more when I arrived in Kolkata and a woman who was trapped in a life of oppression and suffering I cannot fathom, a life she did not choose, invited me over to her ‘beauty space’ and asked me to take my shoes off so she could paint my toenails.
I sat there on the concrete with a woman who lived in desperate poverty and the gap between my life and hers was too hard to fathom. So too the importance of stewardship of my resources had never been more stark. I didn’t need the shoes. They now sit at the bottom of my closet gathering dust.
Still, at the first chance, at our first meeting she chose to serve me, to be generous to me, to honour me with an act of service and beauty that still takes my breath away. A cheerful giver.
She taught me about stewardship, she taught me about the kingdom of heaven.
I want to learn to be a cheerful giver.
I want to live in the freedom of generosity that Jesus paid for with his life.
Prayer: May I sow generously, Lord, and be a cheerful giver. Bless us abundantly, Lord, so that in all things, at all times, having all that we need, we will abound in every good work. Amen.