Gift 7 ~ Small Offerings / VOA Thrift Donation

The last two days (Thanksgiving and the day after) our house has been full of family and guests, celebrating the holiday as well as my dad's 80th birthday. And our dishwasher decided on Thursday that it was not going to work anymore. Perhaps this is just a gentle reminder that in some countries, they do not have such luxuries as dishwashers, let alone enough food to feed themselves or their families for a day. So doing dishes "the old-fashioned way" has raised my awareness about this, and is actually a nice way to relax and soften my hands (both of which are great gifts for a busy mom:)

It is March 26, and Gift 7 for Cami is a combination of three small gifts. The first is accepting the help from her aunt Janelle for cleaning both her bathroom and kitchen. One of Cami's favorite spiritual teachers always says "A closed hand cannot receive." Later, Cami stops at a corner store to pick up some juice. With just $5 left til payday, she sees a large man resting against a dumpster holding out his hand for spare change.  On her way out, she gives him the 72-cents in change to help him out. At her addiction support group meeting that evening, she saves a seat for her friend Ingrid (who is running late) so she doesn't have to stand or sit in the overflow area and watch the meeting on a television screen. This ends up being a great gift because Ingrid gets called on to share a story and is overwhelmed with grief and emotion. Cami gives her some tissues and a bottle of water as a wave of gratitude washes over Ingrid's face. To Cami it is clear that often the simplest gifts carry the most meaning and show people you care.

For me, I am pretty excited about my gift for today. I had cleaned out closets about a month ago and had several stacks of work and other clothes to donate. Typically I would drive to the Strongsville Goodwill and drop them off, getting a receipt for my charitable donation for tax purposes. Today, I choose to donate to the Brunswick Volunteers of America Thrift Store. Someone will be getting some good used work clothes at a great price! I discovered this store with my brother and his girlfriend a couple weeks ago, and we went there again yesterday so I could shop for used items for my upcoming mission trip. I picked up 3 suitcases, 6 pairs of jeans, three shirts, and a pair of work boots all for $57! Except for the boots, you could hardly tell I bought these clothes from a thrift store. I'll be able to wear these items during the mission week, then donate them to the residents through the sisters in the local parish. The extra suitcases will enable us to pack and carry many other donated items that we can distribute to the locals as well. By shopping at the thrift store, I'll be able to give more gifts with the money I saved by shopping here!

Here is a picture of what I bought (foreground) and what I donated today.