Today’s prompt asks:
What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done when no one was watching?
Some people might answer with something dramatic.
A risk.
A confrontation.
A moment when they had to overcome fear.
For me, one of the bravest things I’ve ever done was bless someone and never let them know it was me.
Years ago, I worked in new accounts for the utility department.
My family and I had gone on vacation, and when we returned, I had $500 left over.
As a single mother, I knew what it felt like to stretch a dollar.
To count what was left.
To wonder whether everything would make it until the next paycheck.
One day, a customer came in.
I don’t remember her name now, but I remember her story.
She was struggling to pay her utility bill and was planning to have a yard sale that weekend, hoping she could raise enough money to keep her utilities on.
I went home and mailed her the $500.
No return name.
No phone number.
No expectation that she would ever know who sent it.
I simply included a note that said something like:
“God heard you, and He asked me to bless you. The only thing He asks in return is that someday, when you’re able, you bless someone else.”
I didn’t need her to know who I was.
I only wanted her to know she had not been forgotten.
My mother taught me something I’ve carried with me for years:
It is more blessed to give than to receive.
And over time, I learned that giving isn’t always about money.
I once received a designer purse as a gift.
There was a sales associate at the store who always admired that bag.
One day, someone asked if I wanted another one like it.
I said yes.
When I went back to the store, I asked the clerk to open her car door.
Inside was a gift bag.
And inside the gift bag was that purse.
For her.
Not because she had done something extraordinary for me.
Not because she had earned it.
Simply because I appreciated who she was and the way she treated people.
I’ve left boxes of clothing at laundromats.
I’ve given away shoes.
I’ve given away things I could have kept.
Because there are people all around us who aren’t asking to be rescued.
Sometimes they’re simply trying to make it through the day.
And a little kindness can remind someone that they are not walking through this life alone.
We are our brother’s keeper.
We’ve become so divided by politics, money, race, religion, opinions, and everything else that sometimes we forget something very simple:
People are still people.
Someone can be struggling right beside you, and you may never know it.
So I try to remember that everything placed in my hands was not necessarily placed there for me to keep.
Maybe that was the real blessing.
Not that I had $500 left over.
Not that I had a purse to give.
Not that I had clothes or shoes someone else could use.
The blessing was being in a position to give.
And maybe the bravest kind of generosity is the kind that never gets applause.
No recognition.
No thank-you.
No one knowing your name.
Just you, God, and the quiet knowledge that someone’s day became a little lighter because you chose to help.
Because sometimes God doesn’t bless us so we can hold tighter to what we have.
Sometimes He blesses us so we can become the answer to someone else’s prayer.
Leave a Reply