Your initiative of generosity becomes the measurement of your return. Luke 6:38 The Passion Translation

Initiative in Action

Ding-dong – the doorbell rang. I ran to open the door.

There stood the young couple who are now the pastors of the Spanish Foursquare Church in Woodland, California. They had stopped by on their way to a conference to see Dad – their mentor and pastor. After they hugged and greeted each other Dad said, “Well, let’s go get our Chicken Fried Steak breakfast.”

This led to a search on our phones for a restaurant that served a breakfast with eggs and Country Fried Steak. In the meantime, they joked about how every Saturday morning after prayer they would go to the same restaurant. Dad would order this breakfast and take most of it home for leftovers to eat the rest of the week. Eight years ago, Mom moved to Heaven so he had to learn to cook and leftovers made that so much easier.

My parents moved up to a small town in Northern California after many years of fruitful ministry throughout Latin America and in Spain. They became pastors of a small Foursquare church there. They took the initiative to start a Spanish church and worked diligently in both congregations. While they served faithfully over many years, neither congregation became very large. Clearly, they could have become discouraged, yet they did not, because they focused on discipling those God brought to them.

We shared encouraging words over the meal with a few misty eyes from time to time and lots of shared memories. When it was time to pay for the breakfast, Dad wanted to pay.

“I’m rich now that I’ve moved,” he said.

“You taught me how to give,” the young pastor replied. “Take the initiative and give first.”

“I guess I taught you too well,” Dad replied with a smile.

As we said goodbye to them, the young pastor’s wife came and gave me a hug. As I hugged her back she said with tears in her eyes, “Thank you for sharing your parents so generously.”

The generosity of many years was returning one hundred fold. That’s the beauty of the multiplication of faithful ministry.

Honor Keys

Taking the initiative to give generously is best learned through example rather than merely talking about it. Once you have a generous heart, you begin to look for every opportunity to give. Even though you are not doing it to get something in return, you will reap a bountiful harvest.

Active Definition

Initiative means taking steps to seek after God with your whole heart. The result is that you give first rather than waiting for others to give to you. You set the standard for the relationship and determine to give expecting nothing in return.

Synonyms: leadership, energy, enthusiasm, resourcefulness, eagerness to give

Creative Wording

Thank you for your consistent generosity. You have a special gift of knowing when to give and how to make me feel very special. My greatest desire is to grow in this area with a long-term perspective. Thank you for being such a wonderful example of investing in people and seeing their best possible future.

This is day 14 of a 31 day writing challenge. For more inspiration on honoring those you love, click here.

Author, speaker, corporate trainer, ordained minister and Hope Catalyst, Karen Sebastian enjoys sharing her rich life experiences with others – engaging them in adventurous discoveries of the beauty of hope in a dark, cloudy world. Her books will inspire you to embrace hope no matter what you are going through. To increase hope and improve relationships with yourself and those that you love, check out her Facebook page – The Power of Hope. Karen’s third book on hope – The Power of Hope for Caregivers: Honor the Ride will be released on 11.20.18.