[Ac=
tress Katharine Hepburn, in her own words:]
=
220;Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to =
buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one other family =
between us and the ticket counter. This family made a big impression on =
me. There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. The way =
they were dressed, you could tell they didn’t have a lot of money, but =
their clothes were neat and clean.
The=
children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two =
behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about =
the clowns, animals, and all the acts they would be seeing that night. =
By their excitement you could sense they had never been to the circus =
before. It would be a highlight of their lives.
The=
father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could =
be. The mother was holding her husband’s hand, looking up at him as if =
to say, "You’re my knight in shining armor." He was smiling =
and enjoying seeing his family happy.
The=
ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted? He proudly =
responded, "I’d like to buy eight children’s tickets and two adult =
tickets, so I can take my family to the circus." The ticket lady =
stated the price.
The=
man’s wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man’s lip began to =
quiver. Then he leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you =
say?" The ticket lady again stated the price.
The=
man didn’t have enough money. How was he supposed to turn and tell his =
eight kids that he didn’t have enough money to take them to the =
circus?
See=
ing what was going on, my dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 =
bill, and then dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any =
sense of the word!) My father bent down, picked up the $20 bill, tapped =
the man on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, sir, this fell out of =
your pocket."
The=
man understood what was going on. He wasn’t begging for a handout but =
certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking and =
embarrassing situation. He looked straight into my dad’s eyes, took my =
dad’s hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with =
his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied; =
"Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my =
family."
My =
father and I went back to our car and drove home. The $20 that my dad =
gave away is what we were going to buy our own tickets with.
Alt=
hough we didn’t get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy =
inside us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever =
provide. That day I learned the value to give.
The=
giver is bigger than the receiver. If you want to be large, larger than =
life, learn to Give. Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting =
to get – only with what you are expecting to give – which is everything. =
The importance of giving, blessing others can never be over emphasized =
because there’s always joy in giving. Learn to make someone happy by =
acts of giving.”
~~
Dr Bob Griffin =
[email protected] =
www.grif.net
"Jesus =
Knows Me, This I Love!"