Tired of giving?

More and more, we hear about people needing a financial hand with something, for various reasons. Unemployment, cancer or other sickness, fire or flood, you name it. With the world ever-expanding via the digital world, you can find someone asking for a handout at every turn. TV, newspaper, radio, Internet, it’s all there, all the time.

 

Years ago, we took our kids to Washington, D.C. for a family trip, and we did quite a bit of walking throughout our nation’s capital. Just a few blocks means an entirely different thing than it does in Copperas Cove, or even Austin.

 

What surprised them was the number of panhandlers. In the Metro station, on street corners, along the sidewalks. They’d see us from where they sat, and if you made eye contact, they’d rattle their can. Sure, they had change in the cans to make a bit of noise and catch passersby’s attention, but I’m sure they preferred the dollars.

 

For me at least, it was hard to walk by and not give each of them a little something, but I did it. There were so many, far more than I ever remembered from visiting D.C. when I was a kid, or even in college.

 

After a while, I managed to ignore the can rattling, even as my heart said, “That’s somebody’s father, or brother, or son, or daughter, or...If it was my kid...”

 

After a while, it does get a bit old, doesn’t it, with one cause after another of someone asking for something, especially money? We start ignoring the sound of the can rattling, so to speak. There’s something called compassion fatigue, but in this case, maybe our compassion gets a bit worn out. Another need, another call for money. Always another tragedy.

 

But, that’s life, isn’t it? We do live in a world where there are great needs. There are people who are sick, and their energy, along with their family’s energy, is focused on getting well again in the face of incredible medical costs, not all covered by insurance. Houses burn down. Businesses fail.

 

Now we’re entering that time of year where we’re reminded that most of us have it pretty comfortable. Our needs are met. We have a roof over our heads and we’re pretty sure we’re going to eat tonight, and the next morning, and the day after that. We know we have electricity and running water. We have transportation. Or, if we don’t have a vehicle, we have transportation to get us around for a dollar a ride.

 

But we are also reminded, and should remind ourselves, of the great needs surrounding us. It does get tiring. Yet when we all shoulder a bit of the load together, we can carry it.

 

This year, give when and where you can. Don’t give blindly because not every cause is necessarily a true cause, but everyone’s little bit can add up to a lot.

 

“Very few burdens are heavy if everyone lifts” – an Amish proverb