Lessons in Generosity

2009 is gone and over. It was a good year.
My word that I wanted to focus on was generosity. In light of God's generosity towards us, I wanted to spend a year reflecting a life lived out of this type of overabundant, generous heart.

generous:
a : characterized by a noble or forbearing spirit : magnanimous, kindly b : liberal in giving : openhanded c : marked by abundance or ample proportions : copious

Irony seemed prevalent this year. As much as I wanted to be a more generous person with my time, money, resources, etc., it seemed that God had a different way of teaching me this trait. It seems as if I have experienced generosity much more from both God and other people than I have given it myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining in the least. It has been a wonderful year spent focusing on this virtue. Here are a few of the moments in which I have been overwhelmed--

-My roommate and I have been given two cars to share from friends. Yes, two cars to us free of charge and no strings attached. Wow!

-Fundraising for the internship with InterVarsity wasn't half as hard as I was expecting it to be. It was wonderful to watch friends and family wanting to participate in the ministry at Sonoma State and give of their finances to do so. It sometimes came from unsuspecting sources that I would have never imagined giving at all (or at least in the amounts that they did!), but God works in mysterious and wonderful ways, yes?

-I had the opportunity to count an offering that was taken at the Fall Conference that the Sonoma State InterVarsity chapter participated in this year. We had the honor of having with us a missionary couple from Bulgaria through InterVarsity Link Staff with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES ). The offering was taken specifically to be given to the student movement in Bulgaria through IFES and was to be used in student leadership training. I was blown away by the generosity of the students. Not only did they give, but they gave generously. Around 500 students gave close to $8,000 at a conference they had already paid 100 bucks for. I counted checks for ten dollars, as well as ones for one hundred. Some students threw in the change they had in their pockets, others five dollar bills. So much for the poor college student facade. They gave generously.

In light of God's generosity towards His people, I will continue to search after this valuable trait. But as for my focus for 2010, it will be spend searching after what it means to have abundant faith.

Faith:
a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs

Sounds good to me! Praying that the new year will be spent in growing what it means to have big faith.