The Gift of Giving Long After the Work is Done

When I was in my early thirties I had a group of friends and we all were broke. We wanted to exchange gifts, so instead of doing a secret Santa with a low dollar limit we created a different qualifier. We could not spend any money on our gift, we had to offer an act of service. It meant we could not spend any money, only invest what we had which was time and energy. So we drew names and then had to figure out what act of service that person needed most. 

I was in my first house, so the  couple that pulled my name helped me with my poorly established landscaping. They helped me get everything ready for winter, and helped put up my first Christmas lights. I pulled the name of a single guy friend, so I helped him organzie all the closets and drawer in his apartment. He had no idea how to organize a kitchen  and his bathroom was a disaster. We had a friend that had moved into thier first house, so we all pitched in and painted all their bathrooms. It was a very special holiday season for us all. We lived out the spirit of giving without tapping into our stressed out wallets. We were filled with love and joy and truly understood the meaning of Christmas and friendship. 

As we head into another holiday time of year, I want to propose this challenge. If you have not already purchased something for the people on your list, why not offer an act of service instead? Give of your time and energy and invest in the people you care about in a unique way. You will give something of yourself and they will be blessed long after the work has been completed. You will be amazed at the goodness you experience by giving of yourself without limits.