Over 2,000 verses in the Bible wake us up to issues of poverty and justice. How we respond to them is our option and our responsibility.
The start of a new year is the perfect time to discover the magic of gifts that keep on giving and to ask, “What need really speaks to my heart?” It is also the perfect time to plan your giving for 2018.
We’re avoiding the term RESOLUTION here as over the years that term has become fodder for comedians. Why? Because so many New Year’s resolutions are based on things we know we should do but really don’t want to do. When you add to that the fact most resolutions seem to be dropped or forgotten by the end of January, what you have left are guilty not-so-funny laughs. So forget the resolutions and think GOALS instead. The steps below will illustrate their progression and hopefully kick-start the process for you. 
- If you could solve any problem in the world, what would it be? Whatever it is, that’s the need for you to concentrate on. Those magic gifts that keep on giving – the gift of education, the gift of good health, the gift of decent housing and the gift of adequate nutrition – are a great place to begin your thinking process.
- After selecting a need to tackle, research organizations that address that need. Select one to support and decide how much you want to give in 2018.
- Divide the total you want to give by 12 and either make a commitment to write a check every month or arrange for an automatic payment from your paycheck or your checking account. That’s a great example of faith in action; so is stretching yourself to give a little more than you think you can.
The central feature of the corkboard wall in my office is a mountain climbing poster. It was on the wall in our son’s hospital room when he was getting chemo for bone cancer. He and his sister and his dad and I were all mountain climbers. The poster said, “No goal is too high if we climb with care and confidence.” Those were guiding words for us then and they are guiding words for us now as we strive to live our lives being as generous as we can.
Discovering the magic of gifts that keep on giving is a lofty and admirable goal – one we can keep redefining and follow for the rest of our lives. It is one that can guide you too, if you climb with care and confidence.
Blessings on your pursuit of that magic,
Judy Osgood