“…It is more blessed to give than to receive.” –Acts 20:35
Last weekend, my family and I participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure with my mother-in-law, a breast cancer survivor. It was an incredibly inspiring and emotional morning. There’s something amazing about seeing so many people give of their time and resources for others.
And in the midst of thousands of people coming together to make a difference that day, there was one person who did one little thing that made a really big impact.
In previous years, my mother-in-law (and all survivors who participate in the Race for the Cure) received a medal at the finish line. So after the race this past weekend, my mother-in-law eagerly looked for the place where she could get her medal again. She went from booth to booth, but each place she checked had already run out.
When another woman in a pink survivor shirt walked by wearing a medal, my mother-in-law stopped her. “Where did you get your medal?” she asked.
“Didn’t you get one?” the woman said, smiling.
“No,” my mother-in-law answered, “everywhere I’ve looked, they’ve run out.”
And that’s when the woman reached down and took her medal off. “I’ve been cancer-free for ten years,” she said, “And this is my tenth year at the Race.” She leaned forward and gently placed the medal around my mother-in-law’s neck. “Here. The medal is yours now.”
I don’t know if that woman will ever know the magnitude of what she did just then.
By her one act of giving—an act she’d probably argue was small if you asked her—she gave much more than a medal.
She gave inspiration.
And encouragement.
And hope.
And it was an awesome reminder that each time we give to others, we make an impact on their lives. And the lives of the people around them.
My mother-in-law burst into tears after that medal was put around her neck.
But they were tears of strength.
They were tears of understanding.
They were tears of joy–a joy that came from someone else reaching out and making a difference through love.
How about you? Has there been a time when someone made a difference in your life through giving?
I could barely type this through the tears! My grandmother was a breast cancer survivor – so this hits very close to home indeed. What a wonderful gift, from a total stranger.
My life was greatly impacted by more than one anonymous giver. My parents valued a Christ-centered education for my brother and I, but could not afford the cost solely on their own. If not for those people’s generosity, I probably would not have the testimony for Christ that I have today.
Thank you for sharing this story. I have always believed “Tis better to give than to receive”, and not just at Christmas!