Generosity, Fish Bowls and Drive Thru Surprises

Day 2:  Generosity Jar

Why is making a decision so difficult sometimes?  I can take the simplest thing and complicate the hell out of it.  You’d think grabbing a jar and labeling it “Generosity Jar” would be simple.  But what jar?  A mason jar, a pickle jar, a vase that could be used as a jar?   What about a fish bowl?  I’m not using that for anything right now.  It would be unique, certainly.  But it is big.  I’d have to be mighty generous to fill it up.  Is it possible to be that generous?

I don’t have much spare change because I use my debit card.   Would I have enough change to add to the jar?   I suppose I could take money out of the bank.   Or I could look at the other option of writing generosity promises.  What are generosity promises, anyway?   The instructions on the site:  invite guests to pick one when they visit.  But we don’t have many visitors so that’d be a bust.  Argh, this is so complicated!

Day 4 and I still hadn’t yet decided on a generosity jar and was feeling mighty defeated (already behind after two days of the Lenten Challenge…this must be a new record…let’s call it 40acts of failure.)

Then, miracle of miracles, by the end of Day 5 I had my jar (a mason jar), my purpose for that jar, and an idea for the fish bowl, all proof that there is a God.

Saturday (Day 4) was International Women’s Day.  I saw a post from the United Church of Canada on their Facebook page:   “International Women’s day is coming up on March 8.  Please consider giving a gift to honour a woman or girl in your life.”   My family is full of wonderful women and girls.  This would be a really neat way to purpose the generosity jar AND at the same time honour some pretty fabulous women in my family.

Later that day my husband said, “I was thinking.  It would be good to have a fish bowl full of suggestions on how to be generous for people to take at church. Write the ideas on pieces of paper and invite people to take one after church.  They do that task during the week.”  And yes, he did indeed reference the fish bowl.   I know.

After church on Sunday I was looking forward to meeting with others to talk about experiences with 40acts (relieved that I could say, finally, that I had a generosity jar!)  I had invited the congregation to join the 40acts movement and then join me after church on Sundays in Lent to talk about and share the experience.  I was looking forward to hearing about how others were finding the experience.    But only one person showed up.  The good news here is that one person showed up (thanks, Susan!)  We had a great discussion about some of the 40acts of the previous week.  I also happened to mentioned to her the idea that Jake had about the fish bowl. “I like it!” she said and proceeded to offer ideas about how to fill that fish bowl with acts of generosity.

By the end of our time together it was decided to have the fish bowl  at the door on Sundays as people left the sanctuary.   People could take one and that was their invitation to practice generosity for the week.

Now I can’t wait for Sunday.   If people aren’t able to come to 40acts, we will bring 40acts to them!

Shortly after getting back from church that afternoon Jake and I went out to run some errands.  We decided to stop at Starbucks for a treat.  I was still thinking about 40acts and the fact that people at church didn’t seem interested.  Maybe I hadn’t publicized it enough in the bulletin.  Maybe I didn’t explain it well. “Maybe forty acts just sounds like a lot and people don’t have time to make that kind of commitment,” Jake offered as if reading my mind.  “It sounds like a lot to me,” he added.   He had a point.  It does sound like a lot.

We ordered two lattés.  When we got to the drive thru window the barista had some news, “Your order was paid for by the person in front of you.  Have a good day!”

What?

Jake and I had done that exact same thing for someone behind us in the drive-thru last year.  During Lent.  As part of 40acts.   Here we were in the season of Lent a year later talking about 40acts, only to find ourselves the recipients of similar generosity.

Delighted, we wanted to pay it forward.  We paid for the order of the car behind us.  “It’s pretty cool.   A guy started this about four cars ahead of you,” the barista told us.  Pretty cool, indeed.   Maybe the man who started it was doing 40acts, too.  Suddenly, it occurred to me I was worrying for nothing.   Generosity this Lent seemed to be alive and well.

Thank you to the guy four cars ahead of us for your generosity. Blessings!