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Blessed to Give than to Receive
A purported story from Katherine Hepburn
Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in
line to buy tickets for the circus.
Finally, there was only one other family between us and the ticket counter. This
family made a big impression on me.
There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. The way they were
dressed, you could tell they didn't have a lot of money, but their clothes were
neat and clean.
The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind
their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns,
animals, and all the acts they would be seeing that night. By their excitement
you could sense they had never been to the circus before. It would be a
highlight of their lives.
The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be.
The mother was holding her husband's hand, looking up at him as if to say,
"You're my knight in shining armor." He was smiling and enjoying seeing his
family happy.
The ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted? He proudly responded,
"I'd like to buy eight children's tickets and two adult tickets, so I can take
my family to the circus." The ticket lady stated the price.
The man's wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man's lip began to
quiver. Then he leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you say?" The
ticket lady again stated the price.
The man didn't have enough money. How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight
kids that he didn't have enough money to take them to the circus?
Seeing what was going on, my dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill,
and then dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the
word!) My father bent down, picked up the $20 bill, tapped the man on the
shoulder and said, "Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket."
The man understood what was going on. He wasn't begging for a handout but
certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking and embarrassing
situation.
He looked straight into my dad's eyes, took my dad's hand in both of his,
squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and a tear
streaming down his cheek, he replied; "Thank you, thank you, sir. This really
means a lot to me and my family."
My father and I went back to our car and drove home. The $20 that my dad gave
away is what we were going to buy our own tickets with.
Although we didn't get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy inside
us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever provide.
That day I learnt the value to Give.
The Giver is bigger than the Receiver.
If you want to be large, larger than the life, learn to Give.
Only if you Give can you Receive more. The Givers heart becomes the Ocean, in
tune with the Almighty - The Source
Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only with what you
are expecting to give - which is everything.
Source unverified.
Indeed, it is more blessed to give than to receive.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
