THe Generous One

Christopher submitted the letter below to the Children's Director at our church:

Our daughter, Lelia, certainly displays gratitude but there is absolutely no doubt that she is the most generous person in our family and one of the most generous people I've ever met...no exaggeration. It comes so easily and naturally for her that I'm convinced God created her this way and that as she grows in Christ, the Spirit is going to use her generosity in very powerful ways to serve others in the body and beyond.
It doesn't matter how little she has of something, she immediately offers it to those around her. She will be given a single piece of candy and immediately offer to split it up for her two brothers and her parents. And if it's too hard to cut up, she'll offer for everyone to take a lick. (I won't tell you whether we actually pass the candy around. That may be a little more information than you need.)
It is a rare day that she does not have something in her backpack that she is taking to school to share: an article out of the paper that she knows one of her friends will like, a homemade picture or card for a friend or teacher, cookies for the bus driver...
Just this morning she took a loaf of my wife's freshly baked pumpkin bread to school for her teacher. And this ties into the fact that her generosity often leads our family to be more generous. In fact, even though my wife made pumpkin bread and pumpkin pies earlier in the week, she was motivated to make more pumpkin bread on Sunday night because Lelia kept saying how much she'd like to take some to school for her teacher as she was eating some of her own during the weekend.
I do my best to let Lelia's sensitivity to others' needs serve as my guide for following Scripture's command that we love each other deeply from the heart. If she expresses a desire to share something we have with someone else, I have learned to stop what I am doing to seriously consider following her lead. And rarely do I override her inclination even if it includes unexpected time, money, or effort on my part. I'm that convinced that Lelia has a gift in this area.
So, while Lelia displays the virtue of Gratitude, she embodies the virtue of Generosity.
Christopher and/for Jill, Wesley, and Calvin Graham.