From: dxf12@po.cwru.edu (Douglas Fowler)
Subject: Giving "spiritual gifts"
Reply-To: dxf12@po.cwru.edu (Douglas Fowler)
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Lines: 20


     I just thought I'd share a nice experience before my exam today.
I was walking down the streets on our campus, and a beggar came up and asked
me for any spare change I might have.  I had a dollar or so that I gave her,
and - not wanting to give away all my money to strangers (I generally give
a dollar as that will buy a little food at McDonalds or something) - I offered
her some "spiritual gifts," as I called them, rather than gifts of money.
I talked of how great I felt that God had made such a pretty day, and how
nice it was to give to people - she then said she was getting married soon.
She talked about how she and her husband had very little (they may not have
even had a house, for all I know), but that they felt a very special love in
the Lord, an unselfish kind of caring.  It warmed my heart to know that 2
people can have so little monetarily, and realize that spiritually they are
indeed very rich.  A good lesson for all of us who say we want more, more,
more; what we really need cannot be counted, or sold, or bought.
-- 
Doug Fowler: dxf12@po.CWRU.edu  Heaven is a great big hug that lasts forever
        "And when that One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name;
   He writes, not whether you've won or lost, but how you played the game"
                      --Grantland Rice