Fundraisers and requests from charities used to bother me. So did the collection plate at church. I felt guilty because no matter how much money we made, there was never enough to give any of it away. And with all the debt we had (it was plenty!), how could I be expected to help others when I couldn’t even help myself?
Then our financial house of cards came tumbling down. It was ugly. Losing our business and income and getting notice that our home was scheduled to go into foreclosure was a huge wake-up call. When I was at the darkest point, I made a promise: If I ever see another dollar, I’m going to give some of it away out of gratitude for having anything at all. Then I will do the best I can with the rest. And I meant it.
