What is Charity?

Charity.  We have all heard of the word.  What first comes to mind? Some people may quickly think of Good Will, Savers, D.I, or the Salvation Army.  Some will think of the act of lending a hand to a neighbor, or donating food to a local food drive.  Some think of the pure love of Christ. All of these thoughts are correct!   What has charity done for you in life?
Why is my second post on my first blog about charity?  It's a big role in what inspired me to start blogging!  I was sitting in church, and someone was giving a talk about charity, and it's roll in life.   One of the things she said, hit a spark in my mind, and I had a flood of memories come to me!  It was right then when I realized at how much charity I have seen in my life.  I decided right then that it would be a great idea to share some of these experiences with others.

When I was younger, perhaps around age 6 or 7, I started paying more attention to what was happening around me.  My mom was pregnant at the time, and we were living in a wonderful, new neighborhood.  I'd be sitting inside, watching a movie or playing a game with my brother, and the doorbell would ring.  I'd sprint to the door with excitement, like most kids I know of would do.  There would be someone standing there, usually a mother/grandmother with a 9x13 dish covered in aluminum foil.  There would be a separate bowl with her, having rolls or cookies in it.  The house was suddenly filled with the smell of food.  I hadn't thought about the fact that dinner hadn't been made at my home yet. Soon I came to the conclusion that the food in the dish was for my family that night, as an act of gratitude from a caring neighbor.  We sat down as a family at the table and dug in.  Shepherds Pie.  Oh, very exciting.  I loved the potatoes with the cheese melted right on.  I ignored the peas and lima-beans in the bottom veggie mix, but nevertheless, I was happy.

My other brother was born some odd while later.  Things were going smoothly in the home, until one day a neighbor showed up, and had my brother and I rush into her vehicle for security.  I had no clue what was going on.  I was in a panic.  Where were my parents? Why did my back-door neighbor show up to suddenly babysit me?  I wasn't told I was going to be watched?  Before I knew it, an ambulance showed up at my house.  Mom was being carried outside.  Oh no!  What happened?!  I was crying out of confusion.   Mom was rushed to the hospital.  She had a blood clot in her lung, also known as a pulmonary embolism.  According to the doctor, due to the size of the clot, she shouldn't have survived.  The fact she was still alive when she reached the hospital was impressive.  The fact that she lived through the whole experience is a blessing from Heaven.  Once again, neighbors were coming out of their way to help my family.  We had food brought to us, and other small random goods.  It was a sign of care.  No one was asked to do this.  It was all a job of service.

Several years later, after my sister was born, my mom was very sick. She had a massive tumor growing inside of her.  She would black out all the time, and wasn't around often to take care of me and my siblings.  My dad was at work a lot, so he wasn't around too often either.  Another hard thing was the fact that we lived in the country-side of Texas, where houses were farther apart, and the families that knew my family well were even in separate towns.  I, at the age of 10, was spending a lot of my "free-time" when I wasn't at school taking care of my siblings, who were 8, 3, and 2.  It was a pain in the butt.  Can you guess where this is going?  Probably.  Once again, family friends went out of their way to come help my family.  Even if it included driving my mom to the Hospital, and arriving with treats, and simply being there for us, showing that they cared.  A few months later, the families also helped my family move back to Utah at last minutes notice.

Years passed by again, and of course my family continued to see charity around every corner.  Christmas time would roll around and my family was in quite a financial crisis after the divorce.  We noticed that we were receiving a lot of Secret Santa's and donations of many sorts.  I was a little embarrassed for a bit.  "Oh come on, we are getting this because we are poor.."  so on and so forth.  But it took me a realize that that statement was selfish.  It's charity around the corner again!  It's love, care, and simply showing others around you that they care!

It has taken me a few years to realize how much charity and love from others has impacted my life.  Sometimes I feel like I was taking it for granted.  I appreciate it so much, and I hope to go on through life serving others.  I want to continue sharing the love and kindness I have received in my life, and I encourage you to do the same as well!