Truly Blessed By Chocolate, SF-Bay Area California

One Act of Change that changed me deeply happened in front of a Safeway store. I was going in to grab a few items and noticed a man outside with a small table collecting money for a rehab unit, which was not unusual for someone who was a resident of the rehab unit. I went in, bought my items then as I was leaving, I realized that I hadn’t done my Act of Change for the day so I decided to throw $4.00 into the can that he used to collect the money. I felt pretty proud of myself. I normally put in 1 or 2 dollars. Today I doubled it. “That was really nice of me”, I thought to myself, feeling oh-so-generous. Then I heard that ‘still small voice” chiding me saying,” Really? $4.00? You LOSE that much money in one day!! Was that your best gift?” I had long since learned to honor that “still small voice”, because it was relentless if I didn’t follow its prompting, so I put my groceries in the car and went back to the man. I struck up a conversation with him and asked him how long he was going to be in front of the store. 7 hours was his reply, so I decided to go back into the store and buy him some breakfast and lunch items along with fresh fruit and drinks with extra money for cold drinks in the afternoon. When I presented him with the goodies he was very surprised and very appreciative. I was happy and feeling more than a little smug. Again, the “still small voice” demanded my attention. “That was good, but did you do that for him or for yourself? Who did that serve? Was that your best gift?” Ugh!!! Again, that voice knew the condition of my heart. But what was my best gift? The voice pointed out that I did a great thing FOR him, but it was done in a very US vs THEM kind of attitude. Did I even see him? Did I look into his eyes and see into his soul? Did I want to see? Did I even ask him his name? As I walked to my car, again, I realized that the “still small voice” that I believe to be the Spirit of God, was right on all points. I didn’t ‘See’ him. I was smug with pride. I didn’t give him my best gift. So…. I turned around and went back to the man and gently asked him, ” How do you come to be here today?” “It may take a little bit of time to tell you…” “No, problem, I’ve got all the time you need.” was my reply, and for the next 45 minutes I listened as he told me of his up-bringing, the foster homes, dropping out of school, time in the military, his short marriage, the birth of his daughter, his path to drugs and addictions and now his time in Recovery. He shared his hopes in building a new relationship with his daughter and hoping that its not too late. I listened to him share and was moved to give him a long healing hug, sharing several breaths with him. I offered to pray for him and the reconciliation of his relationships and for total healing body, mind, soul and spirit, which he accepted. As I walked away, I knew that I gave him the best gift I could. I gave him the gift of listening and my undivided attention. It was my honor to meet this man and to hear his story. I will never forget him. He taught me how to truly give. And his name is Larry Robinson.
I learned to be a better giver that day and have used that experience to measure the value of my giving. I hope we will all be amazing givers in our service to this world.