By Deacon Peggy Hahn (she/her), Director of Innovation at LEAD

Being human means, we are givers. We’re built to love and love always includes sharing. Honestly, I think it’s the second hardest part of following Jesus. Although we seldom talk about it in this way, Jesus’s whole life was one of giving himself away. The New Testament shows us that giving is our highest calling.

But giving is messy. It asks a lot – maybe everything.

• First, to love yourself and your family—even on the days when it feels impossible.
• Then, to share the money and resources that came through hard work or inheritance.
• And finally, the hardest part – to share your time, attention, wisdom, and heart.

We can make giving sound simple, but it’s not. Giving is sacrifice and sacrifice hurts. It’s sitting up all night with a baby or someone who’s sick or struggling with mental health and addiction. It’s cleaning up the same mess for the hundredth time. It’s giving money you earned to someone you’re not even convinced is trying all that hard themselves. It’s pouring yourself into work no one sees, with no reward except knowing it matters

The power in this is in our own powerlessness to truly fix everything we see is broken. This is the power of the cross – the opposite of the power that is so attractive in the marketplace.

A Thanksgiving Prayer:

Jesus, we open ourselves up to be more like you – to be givers out of gratitude for being alive and being human. Strengthen us for this hard, often impossible calling. Help us to support others in their giving. Forgive us when we fail, when our hearts are broken from giving so much, when we don’t know if we have more to give. Amen.

“Memories are not just about the past. They determine our future. You can change   things. You can make things better.” The Giver by Lois Lowry