Extravagant Generosity

Countdown to moving day, T minus 7 days to pack & prep. I’ve not done much yet, other than decide to focus on the bedroom first, packing EVERYTHING except for clothes to get me through the week. I’m in the process of laundering summer stuff so I can put it into the totes it will stay in until it’s warm enough to get back out again. I managed to get myself up, showered, and dressed for church on time today, and went for the first time in about 6 weeks. As a church, we are finishing a study called Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. It’s a 5 week study, and obviously, since I missed the last 6 weeks, I’d missed the other sessions (though I do have the book. Somewhere). Today’s lesson (and sermon) talks about Extravagant Generosity. In all honesty, I do have trouble with that, right now. Not simply because my pennies are so carefully pinched and budgeted, but also because, well, frankly, I believe that I have practiced that in the past, and while often I didn’t see the results of those actions, there have been some instances that I did see the results. One of those instances was helping someone get out of what was (so she claimed, though now pretty much all she ever told me is suspect) an abusive marriage, including paying for a car repair on the way, making sure she had a place to stay, insurance on her car, and food in her belly “until she could get back on her feet”. What I didn’t realize was that while she made as much money as I did, from the day after she arrived (as she had a job already lined up via transfer within her company), she had no intention of contributing to the household, car insurance, or anything else, and that she would repay my generosity (kindness, stupidity, whatever you call it) by trying to steal from me. Another instance I helped someone that needed it, and that backfired on me as well. My generosity in the last 15 months or so has put me into a poorhouse, homeless, save for some awesome friends willing to take me (and my cats) in. While I am loathe to even consider practicing much of any kind of generosity, I also realize that I find myself now on the receiving end of just such Extravagant Generosity. And for that, I am grateful. I am fully aware that I need to put my anger at the people who took advantage of my giving nature behind me, and move on. I will. Eventually. One is easier and less fury inducing now, and that one I’ve gotten to where I’m not quite as angry at her. The other, well, it had a much more far-reaching effect, and that one will take more time. Today, a pirate friend was asked by the owners of Weston Gardens to bring a crew and “take the ship” during their Cooking with Tea presentation. There was a previous invasion, back in March, which I missed because I was in Midland at the Celtic Festival, so today was my first experience. The gardens are awesome, and I would love to do more exploring and photographing than I had the opportunity for today. (will try to get pics posted later in the week) The audience seemed to enjoy it, and I think it would be great for us, or at least Captain Greybeard, to come up with a more practiced routine, that we could do instead of totally flying by the seat of our pants. After we determined that we would be unable to move the ship from the mud and sandbar, we released the prisoners (no royalty, so they were essentially of no value anyway), left the ship where it stands, and headed to Burleson to invade Golden Corral, which is always amusing. None of us thought about it being nearly Halloween until a customer asked me if we were dressed up for it. At any rate, the storms are headed this way, I’m pooped, and the cats are already snuggled up on the bed, so I’m outta here folks!