The Pastor's Perspective

Dr. Alex Ramsey, fresh out of residency and brimming with idealistic fervor, found himself adrift. He'd aced medical school, pictured himself in a cutting-edge research lab, perhaps even on the front lines of global health. Instead, he was in Oakwood, a town where the most exciting medical case was usually a sprained ankle at the Friday night football game. He’d taken over the small, underfunded free clinic, a place where patients often paid with stories and gratitude, not cash.      One sweltering afternoon, his father, a retired carpenter with hands gnarled by years of honest labor, visited. Seeing the weariness in Alex's eyes, he asked, "How are things going, son?"      "Dad, I feel like I'm spinning my wheels," Alex confessed, running a hand through his already disheveled hair. "I'm not making a difference. I'm not...progressing."      His father, a man of few words but deep understanding, simply nodded. "Come with me today....

     William Allen White, a famous newspaper editor in Emporia, Kansas, once gave a 50 acre tract of land to the city for a park.      At the dedication of the park, Mr. White walked up to the poem and gave a small speech. In that speech Mr. White shared with the audience about the blessing of giving. Mr. White said this;      "There are three kicks in every dollar. One kick is when you make it, and boy how I love to make a dollar! One kick is when you save it and I have the Yankee's lust for saving a buck. The third kick is when you give it away, and that is the biggest kick of all"       Generosity is a virtue that we are grateful being the recipients of. Look back on your life and I am sure you will find a time in your life when someone was generous with you. When someone gave you some time to listen to you. Times when someone helped you with a problem you were having. Times when someone out of their own generosity gave...