Monday, January 3, 2011

A 10% Possiblity

Today was grocery day.
I don't know if its just me,but Grocery shopping is getting to be little to no fun.
Walking through the maze of people,who for some reason have a need to talk in the center of the aisle and seem oblivious to those of us who choose to get by, the inability to no longer be able to budget,due to the every weekly sky rocketing price hikes and the never ending lines at the check out,all of which have made my shopping experience,has of late,less then pleasurable.
Today was no different.
Planning on spending only what was necessary and finding my final Talley to be almost acceptable,I gazed over to the entrance,directly across from me,and noticed a sign for the Oxford food bank.
Suddenly a sense of shame came over me,here I stand with my basket of groceries and money in hand,with some left to spare,while others have little to nothing.
How could I make this a better experience and an opportunity to give to others.
Has I pushed my cart out the door toward my car the idea of 10% came to mind.
Lately I have been thinking allot about 10% giving,the Bible calls us to such things and has of late I have been very lacking.
Last week when I thought about how I would increase my charitable giving 10% seemed a great deal to ask from me,not so much because I feel I can not do it,but more because the thought of giving up such an amount,from my gross pay check each week, seemed almost,well breath taking,to say the least.
To solve this issue one of my resolutions,this year,is to start by giving 5% of my income,then every 2 to 3 months increase it by 1% at a time until the magic 10% amount is a reality and a comfortable one at that.
Now while standing at my car in the parking lot,the idea of 10% of what I just spent in total groceries could be given in food donation not only today,but every week,there after.
Being the New Year I resolved that when ever I enter a grocery store that has a food collection bin this will be my aim.
I walked back into the store bought and paid for my new 10%,which came to $12.00,and placed the bags into the collection bin.
A sense of great relief came over me,like a job well done,and happiness filled my heart.
A simple 10% of what I had,was now given to another and it did not hurt me a bit,has a matter of fact it felt pretty wonderful.
We are here to help others and we need to start where we feel comfortable.
By pushing ourselves even a small bit,we can make a great impact in another person life that we have not even met and probably never will.
Take the time to give 10% of your money,time or talent and see how it benefits both you and those you give to.

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