“It is giving that we receive.” – Saint Francis of Assisi
Spirit of Giving – Tear Series – Part 6
Go to PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6 | PART 7
We’ve been sharing some thoughts and ideas from our friends at TEAR Australia, and it’s been such an important week for us.
I love what we do here at PocketFuel, but I'm itchy for more. We want to help people, but to be honest, I haven’t known where to begin. There is so much need in the world… which cause should we give our attention to? And do we actually have anything to give?
My son recently turned seven and was completely obsessed with getting gifts. After some “meltdowns,” we had (several) conversations about what celebrating a birthday means, and the fact that because he gets a gift at all makes him one of the richest kids in the world.
In the middle of all this, I received an email from my now friend Caroline at TEAR Australia. As I looked into who they are and what they do, I was overwhelmed by the grace and timing of it all. Perhaps, amongst other things, we can be a voice for people doing the humble and courageous work of making the world a better place.
Each Christmas, TEAR Australia releases a catalog called “Useful Gifts.” It was the first of its kind and became one of the world's most successful fundraising concepts. Instead of giving your friends another bottle opener, you can buy a chicken, or pre-school classes, or a toilet on their behalf for someone in the grip of poverty.
Alison Sampson tells this story:
“A couple of years ago, we wanted to encourage our kids in the spirit of giving…. So my husband pulled out a TEAR Catalog and invited each of them to choose something that we, as a family, would buy in their name.
Our youngest kids performed as expected. They took turns flipping through the catalog, then chose cows and vegetable gardens: useful, and no real skin off our nose. We handed the catalog to our oldest, expecting her nine-year-old self to order a toilet, but instead she took the catalog and said, very seriously: “I’ll need to think about this.”
She went away to a quiet corner of the house. Some time later she returned, catalog in hand. “So,” she said, “this village development package on the back page means a village gets everything, right? Not just a cow or a toilet, but everything they need to make their lives easier?”
We had been so charmed by the pictures of chickens and sewing courses that we hadn’t paid much attention to the back page, which featured the $5,000 village development package. We looked at each other as she went on to remind us that we had said we were among the richest people in the world. “We live in Australia,” she said, “and you guys have jobs, and we have enough of everything. And you promised to buy anything from the catalog.”
We gulped. We had promised. And she was right.
So we agreed. It took us a little while to find the money, but we did it. And the very fact we did it proved our daughter (and my husband) right: we could afford it, and we can indeed afford to be much more generous than we think.”
Saint Francis said that “It is in giving that we receive.” It’s a lovely line to pray and say; it’s a challenging mandate to live. Giving isn’t about warm and fuzzy feelings like we’ve dome something great and can pat ourselves on the back.
I find that the more I learn about the communities and people that organizations like TEAR Australia serve, the more unsatisfied I am in my giving: there must be more that we can do. Know what I mean?
Maybe Saint Francis meant that it is through our giving that we will receive back – with perseverance and time – a world impacted by our choice to give.
You can check out the “Useful Gifts” Catalog at usefulgifts.org – it’s beautiful.
You can find Alison's whole story here – it's hilarious AND challenging. (Alison is Pastor to Sanctuary, a new Baptist congregation based in Warrnambool. She is also a writer and mother, and blogs sporadically at www.theideaofhome.blogspot.com).
You can find out more about TEAR Australia here:
tear.org.au
usefulgifts.org
fortomorrow.org.au
Facebook.com/tearaus
Insta: @tearaustralia
Twitter: @TEARAustralia
Go to Part 7 – For Tomorrow »
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How I admire your youth and enthusiasm to do big things in the wondrous name of Christ!…..for the world, to stop suffering, to stretch and give more! Your pieces are thought-provoking and noble…and so sincere, I can tell. As an elder who has always tried to answer the call and give more, I have done the best that I could do. We sponsor one child at a time, through Christian Children’s Fund, always asking for the poorest child in the world. But unlike your direction, ours has been on a smaller scale and quieter, often just helping a friend or neighbor…..doing what we can, my husband and I and our family. Learning disabilities and health issues and family challenges have made our lives more complex, as God has willed for His Purposes, and so I take St. Francis’ statement in a much broader sense. I think he means that our hearts will be filled with the Love that is His Love when we do something, great OR small, whatever we have to give. Reaching out, helping one person at a time? Yes. Whole villages at a time? Perhaps, yes, too. But maybe there are a lot of us out here who cannot reach that lofty a goal. But maybe it doesn’t matter how high you can reach for, as long as you are doing something. Large and small together may just change the world. Thanks for listening to my thoughts. I seek to add to yours. Please keep up the marvelous work you do and God Bless you always, Carol Slabinski