A Gift from the Heart . . .

How do you discern when a thought is from God rather than from your ego self? I wrestle with this often, but this year I had a circumstance where I was absolutely sure, I know the Holy Spirit acted through me.
My dad lives in Corpus Christi, Texas, alone since Mom died four years ago, and he has had a series of medical difficulties. My brother and I are farther away, so my youngest sister Barbara and her daughter Jessica, who also live in Corpus Christi, have shouldered the burden of responding to the crises. Barb also bears the brunt of his frustration with the state of his life.

One night, I called Dad. Barb was having more trouble with her car, he said. After expressing anger at the mechanic, he said she really needed a new truck. I replied, “Well, why don’t you buy her one?”
You have to understand my parents. They were Depression children, very conservative about money. You could never give Mom a gift that was “too nice” or she would put it away in a drawer and not use it. We always had enough, but money went in the bank, not into luxuries. The idea of buying Barb something that cost over $20,000 was unheard of, though he really wanted to help her. Also, Dad is very fair and wouldn’t want to do something for one child he did not do for the others. I admire that in him.

But my brother and I are also aware of how much Barb does for him day in and day out. And when I asked my dad, “Why don’t you buy her a truck?” my brother, who was visiting from Tulsa, chimed in, “Yeah, why don’t you buy her a truck?” Anyway — he DID it. He and my brother told her about his decision the next day.

Barb, however, called me later saying she didn’t see how she could accept it (we Joneses aren’t real good at accepting gifts), and I told her, “Think of it as a gift from God.” She’s been going to a church down there, and I think she understood what I meant, that it was really OK to take this. She picked out a nice, shiny blue truck with a fine CD player, and we all celebrated when she drove it home.

I am absolutely sure that what I said those two times (to get him to give and her to accept) came from God, who wanted my angel of a sister to have a truck and my dad to exercise his generosity. If it had been from me alone, it wouldn’t have happened, and I wouldn’t have thought of it if I hadn’t been practicing generosity myself with the help of The Church of the Good Shepherd.

What a joy! Barb has a new truck! And Daddy gave it to her! Thanks be to God!