Do you believe generous people will be blessed? I do. Reflecting on generosity brings to mind many compassionate, caring people who give and live as Jesus did. My family and I have been blessed with gifts of generosity through seasons of sunshine and of sorrow. Closing my eyes, I see faces of people who helped us through the years. You never forget the generosity of those who sit with you by a loved one’s bedside, rescue you when you locked your keys inside the house or ran out of gas on a lonely road, hold your hand when news of sickness shatters your world and your heart when a loved one is called home to heaven, celebrate with you when good news lights up your life, and stand by you through all seasons as a Christian sister or brother. Because of God’s amazing grace and healing touch on my life and generous people who love, laugh, and lift me up, I am committed to sharing the good news of our Lord and encouraging loved ones to live closely connected to HIM and one another. God’s goodness and generous gifts have shown me the importance of serving Him with gladness.

God’s word shows the importance of being a generous person in Proverbs 22:9, “Generous people will be blessed…” Jesus taught through example and parables how we should love Him passionately, love all His children, and practice generosity as did the Good Samaritan. Selfishness is frowned on by our Lord. Are you a giving person, looking for opportunities to bless others and share the love of our Lord, or a selfish person, piling up treasures in your own barns with no intentions of sharing a portion of your bountiful blessings? I pray this story touches your heart and helps you see the beauty of blessing others and receiving God’s favor…even when the enemy tries to steal your joy and spoil your day.

Summertime is a busy season for me. Working and playing with children at The Learning Station is a big blessing and enormous challenge. Our children are powerful prayer warriors who yearn to help others. They are generous giants who surely get God’s attention sharing sunshine wherever they go. Each week, the children painted posters and created cards to give people on our Sonshine visits. Each day we shared time studying the Bible and praying together. We talked of how Jesus went about sharing the Good News and helping people. Little children are precious to God and can touch people’s hearts powerfully. Our summer field trips and special activities focus on sharing the Good News of our Lord. ‘Doing as Jesus did’ is our motto. Weekly visits to rest homes, businesses, and homes of shut- ins were anticipated by students and teachers. Watching the little children pray and read their Bibles at the homes of widow ladies, sick people, and grandparents of the children lifted me higher than those we bestowed blessings upon in His name. Tired as I was at the end of long, summer days…I knew God was using our little children to encourage people who surely felt situations, sadness, sickness, sorrow, and suffering, had taken their sunshine away. The enemy attacked time and time again, hoping to deflate our efforts to go out and share the Good News. He didn’t win! Yet, the good Lord’s little children worried the pudding out of us as day after day we lined them up, counted heads, stopped the irritating things they did to one another while waiting, loaded up, and headed out on a journey to deliver joy. It would have been much easier to stay at The Learning Station, sit in a cool place, and let those little children play the day away. The charge of training up children in the way they should go, teaching them to balance work and play, do their best in all things, treat others as one wants to be treated, stand and pray, and enjoy each day is important and embraced at The Learning Station.

God was with us on every visit, giving guidance and perfect timing to be where He wanted us. The summer memory that stole my heart was when we shared sunshine in the middle of Jasper Street. One afternoon, on our way back to The Learning Station, we met a man riding in his motorized wheelchair. American flags adorned his chair; my heart stirred to stop, so I did. I asked his name. His eyes lit up as he proudly told us who he was. I handed Haley a bottle of water in our van. Payson grabbed his Bible and the two of them were on a mission to spread some sunshine. In the middle of a city street, God smiled down and blessed a bunch of little children, an old man, and me. Payson read a verse, “Be still and know that I am God” and prayed with the man. Haley handed him the water. We experienced God on a city street by giving a cup of water in His name. The children who watched from the van declared we had saved a man who would have ‘thirsted to death’ if we hadn’t come along. Happiness hovered inside the van. Within minutes, we were on our way with a memory of doing as Jesus did tucked inside our hearts. I smiled and thanked Him for divine generosity. That summer afternoon the kids headed home with happy hearts, so did I.

God’s calling on my life is to teach children to love the Lord and their loved ones with all their hearts. I do it with passion and appreciation to God for healing me, giving me strength to keep on keeping on, and providing protection, joy, and sunshine to light my path. I praise Him for all the generous people who bless my life daily.