Last week I was talking with a friend who is struggling financially because of a situation that’s going on in her family. As we were talking more in depth, she mentioned that there were some items that she had just run out of, she had to go to the store to pay full price for them, and she didn’t have a lot of money. My heart just ached for her when I heard her story.
That night I compiled a box of personal hygiene items that I thought she and her family could use such as body wash, floss, toothpaste, etc. These were items I’d received for free or very inexpensively. I then dropped off the box with a loaf of homemade zucchini bread (she wasn’t home at the time).
When I spoke with her again later that week, she said that when she got home and saw the box she just started crying because those were items that she could use, especially the floss because she had just run out. Later that week, I had a feeling to give her a box of diapers for her toddler. She later told me that she was extremely grateful because she was almost out of diapers and needed to buy more.
The reason I share this story with you is because I realize that we can give to others even if it’s just something small because it can make a huge difference to another person. I was hesitant at first to give the box of items to this friend because I didn’t think it was very much. I later learned that for her it was exactly what she needed at that time in her life.
I’ll admit that this past month has been tight for us financially because we are trying to rebuild our emergency fund since we used some of it to pay for my father’s funeral (you can read more about that here). Even though I couldn’t give this friend money, I wanted to give her something that might help her out since she is having a financially difficult time right now.
I know that there are so many ways you can give to others. It could be something like your time, listening to them, free samples or free items that you receive in the mail or from the store, homemade meals, or more.
Part of the reason I try to be frugal is so that I can help and give to others. There are so many people worse off than me and my family. And after speaking with this friend, I find myself even more grateful that my husband has a job and that he works hard every day to provide for us. And because of what he does, I am able to stay at home with my girls. I feel that we’ve been very blessed lately, and I’ve just had more of an attitude of gratitude over the past few months that I wanted to share it will all of you.
If you have an experience you would like to share about gratitude or giving to others, feel free to do so.
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