-- adapted from Monday Morning in N. Georgia, North Ga. Conf. website

Giving, Not Getting, Is the Way

     Gracie Bonds Staples is one of my favorite local journalists. She recently reported on the work of Dr. Jim Leake, a plastic surgeon in Marietta , has found a creative way to use his medical training and expertise. For 20 years he has provided free reconstructive operations for children where the lack of money and insurance prevents them from having a normal life. Dr. Leake said, “It takes about an hour to fix a child’s lip or reconstruct a palate. Just one hour to change a child’s entire life.”
     Rick Reilly writes for Sports Illustrated. He is the person who provided the motivation for the Nothing But Nets campaign to eradicate malaria. In a recent article he wrote about “the oddest game in high school football history.” It occurred in Grapevine, Texas and involved Grapevine Faith and Gainesville State School .
     “When Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through. They even made a banner for the opposing players to crash through at the end. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name.”  Reilly explains that Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility near Dallas . Faith’s head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the young men who were in jail, many of whom had been disowned by their families. He had the idea that half of their fans—for one night only—would cheer for the other team. "Here's the message I want to send," Hogan wrote to his school's fans. "You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth."
     When the game was over (Faith won 33-14) both teams gathered in the middle of the field to pray. Isaiah, one of the boys from Gainesville , surprised everyone when he asked to lead the prayer. He prayed, "Lord, I don't know how this happened, so I don't know how to say thank You, but I never would've known there was so many people in the world that cared about us."
     How can you give more this year? Ask God to show you ordinary and creative ways to give. “Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity" (Luke 6:38, The Message).

                                  by Jamie Jenkins, Executive Assistant to the Bishop