In Giving We Receive…Pt 2
I have always wanted to start an essay paraphrasing the opening to the Acts of Apostles. RSV Acts 1:1 “In the first book, O Theoph′ilus, I have dealt with all that…” I guess this is as close as I will ever come to that. In my first essay on “In Giving We Receive” I dealt with the local cigar clubs Secret Santa Exchange and how happy it made me to run the exchange this year and bring great joy to others' lives. I related the happiness the event created and noted the struggles which I have had with autism and being able to see the happiness it brought others when I share what I have.
I was forced to move this winter. At first it looked like a horrible experience which I was going through, not having electric in the place I was living in due to an issue with the house’s wiring and the landlord not being willing to fix it until I moved. In the end, however, the experience ended up being a blessing because the place I moved to is an enormous upgrade over where I was living and a complete blessing to me and my dogs. One of the things the move caused me to do was go through my possessions and see what I have and have not used since my last move nearly 6 years ago. When I moved from the house my ex and I lived in I didn’t have the time or energy to go through much of our mutual possessions and so they simply ended up in Rubbermaid containers in the basement. With this move I was able to sort through things.
One of the things I found was the dinnerware set the ex had bought about 14 years ago. For the past 6 years I had been using the same 2–3 plates, bowls and mugs and the same with glasses. The rest of the enormous set which she had bought all remained in the basement. I decided while packing and going through my belongings that the dishes were not something I wanted to bring with me due to the strong reminder of the person who bought them. Thus, I bought my own set of dishes and glassware and set out to find someone to donate them to. Originally, I was going to donate them to Goodwill or another agency like that, but a friend suggested I find a family in need to donate to. I thought this was a great idea. It took a month after the move for me to find someone, but I ended up finding her. She has a growing family with one on the way and she thanked me deeply when I helped her place the 6 moving boxes of dishes and glassware in the trunk of her car.
What made this time standout to me and so much different from the past was the fact that I openly wanted to make this donation and I was excited to help someone out. Due to a narrow mindset, black and white manner of seeing things and difficulty seeing how my actions affect others, all part of being autistic, I have always struggled with things like this. To be able to openly want to do this, without prodding from others, and to be able to feel happy about doing this was enormous for me. I may have donated a whole kitchen worth of dishware and glassware to a much deserving and needing family, but I feel that I might have gotten the best end of this transaction. As I noted in the previous story, this is but another small step in helping me learn that in giving, when done properly, it is often the giver who receives more than the recipient. Glory to God!
