When I was nineteen I sensed that God was directing me to move to Hawaii. A good friend named Bill who had been generous with his own home and resources had some friends he thought I might be able to stay with for a few weeks. So I flew to Hawaii on a one-way ticket, my bicycle in a box, and less than $100 in my pocket.
Doug and Elizabeth Glenn opened their home to me. They gave me a place to sleep, cooked delicious and healthy food for me to eat, and made me feel like a member of their family. I got a job, pitched in around the house, and did what I could to be helpful. Still, they kept giving. They loaned me their car whenever I needed it, they let me use all of their possessions just as though they were mine, and they introduced me to their friends. Those friendships have borne much joy in my life over the years.
Doug was a goldsmith and jeweler. When I noticed what he was doing in his shop, he invited me in and began to teach me his craft. He could take a piece of paper and a pencil and draw a matching ring, necklace, and pair of earrings and then create them. He cut the stones, melted the gold, polished, and perfected some of the most beautiful jewelry on earth. And he spent hours with me to show me how he did it. He helped me buy a polishing wheel, gave me a handful of rough semiprecious stones and taught me how to cut, polish, and sell them. Doug and Elizabeth made a place for me over about two years. Their hospitality was a gift.
Doug passed away a few years ago. Though I hadn't seen him in over ten years, I needed to be there for the memorial. I found myself surrounded by hundreds of people who had story after story of Doug doing similar things for them. There wasn't enough time to tell about the fullness of his generosity, but strangely we didn't have to, we all knew the same man.
Generous people:
- Smile
- Ask how you're doing
- Make themselves available to other people
- Are connectors... they see the potential in people
- Intentionally schedule "free time", so that they can be free in sharing it with you
- Are not ignorant of reality, they simply choose to believe more than they see with their eyes
- Make their own needs known and are very well cared for when they are in need
- Give money out of the overflow of the blessings they have received
- Are the first to trust
- Have great hope
- Love
P.S. You can see some of Doug's craftsmanship here
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