Giving

Why We Give

Learning to give more than we receive.

Our family’s giving began with a simple Christmas recognition: we wanted to teach our children more about giving than receiving.

Through my husband’s father’s experience, we discovered CHOICE Humanitarian. Over time we participated in six humanitarian expeditions in different parts of the world — learning from and loving people across cultures, and discovering how those experiences united our family.

The beautiful culmination came in our son’s insight after visiting Israel: learning about Christ mattered deeply, but serving allowed him to put Christ’s teachings into practice.

A parable

The Cracked Pot

A man carried two pots of water to his home every day. One pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

The other pot had a crack. By the time they reached home, it was only half full.

For two years the cracked pot felt ashamed of its imperfection, and one day it said to the man,

“I am so sorry. Because of my crack, you have to do all this work, and I only bring half the water.”

The man smiled and said,

“Have you noticed the flowers along the path? I have known about your crack all along. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day as we walk home, you water them.”

“For two years I have been able to gather these beautiful flowers to decorate my table.”

“What you thought was a flaw has blessed our home in ways you never knew.”