Generosity

May 2022 Character Core

The Meriam Webster Dictionary states that generosity is “the quality of being kind and generous.” Generosity can be shown in small or big ways. It can be a simple thing like paying for a stranger’s coffee or giving of your time to a charity or organization in your hometown.

We may think of generosity as solely having to do with giving away money, but that is not true. We can also be generous with our time, our talents, even our very lives. The story below, as told by projectboldlife.com, illustrates this very well.

“After suffering years with a failing liver, Brenda Jones, learned that she would need a liver transplant to survive. Though she was 69-years old, she wanted to live many more years. And by all accounts, with a healthy liver, she could. So, the doctors placed her on a liver transplant list hoping a donor would eventually appear. Brenda waited for a full year before she received the call from her doctor that a match had been found. Thankful that a donor had been found, Brenda planned her transplant surgery with great anticipation. But before the procedure was performed, she received another call as well.

The second call was also from her transplant surgeon at Baylor. He told Brenda about a 23-year-old woman, Abigail Flores, who had been flown into the hospital that day. Abigail needed a liver transplant as well, and without it, she would die within 24 hours. And most important, the liver that was a donor match for Brenda was also a match for Abigail. The choice was up to Brenda, but she did not hesitate. She gave permission for the surgical team to give the liver to Abigail, and as a result, Abigail survived. It was one of the most profound acts of generosity witnessed, and Brenda affected numerous lives in the process. And as luck would have it, Brenda was notified four days later that another liver for her had been found.”

Though most of us might not actually be called to give away an organ, this story is a great reminder of how generosity can change lives. I encourage all of us to look at our lives to see how we can be more generous to others around us, both in big and small ways.