Giving Within Your Means

             You’ve heard the expression “living within your means?” Well, today I want to talk about “giving within your means.” I was inspired by my friend, Peggy, who is by definition “a giver.”  We started our weekend with girlfriends getting together at Peggy’s house for a magnificent Saturday morning breakfast. We chatted and caught up as girlfriends do, and it occurred to me that Peggy, not only offers me support, but she is equally generous to all our friends – a special soul! A Caregiver!

                As us girls exchanged stories, a common theme was giving sometimes hurts, particularly in relationships with the men in our lives. It’s interesting how givers find takers, isn’t it? Then I started to think about Caregivers and back to my time with Gramps. I didn’t expect anything in return and it was never a give-to-get type of relationship – this was my grandfather! However, we all know how much energy and effort it takes to be a Caregiver. It occurs to me that one of the reasons that Caregiving is so difficult, is that the Caregiver’s energy bank is overdrawn.

                At church we talk about how you reap what you sow, you are never less for giving, and my favorite, “God loves a cheerful giver!” Giving is encouraged. Caregivers give everything we’ve got to our loved one, never thinking about ourselves or what we will get in return. The challenge is that we do not have unlimited energy supplies. Infinite resources are God’s business. We are human beings with limitations.

                In my Los Angeles gallivanting today, I stopped in at Ron Teeguarden’s Dragon Time, an herb and tonic medicine shop that I visited years back, and picked up some herbs for Gramps and I. Today, I couldn’t decide on a tonic, so Daniel suggested I try their “Supreme Shen.”  Interestingly, in Chinese medicine, giving develops Shen, which is about maintaining a healthy spirit. Giving is good for the soul. Giving within your means is healthy. Giving until it hurts is not of God.

                So the question becomes how do we meet the demands of Caregiving and doing what needs to be done, without depleting our own energy supply? I think the answer is fundamental and it’s a repetitive theme on this blog –take care of yourself. Do what must be done to make sure you feel good, stay healthy, and be conscious of your mind, body, and spirit. How do you feel? Exhausted? What can you offer when you are down and out? Not much. Don’t let yourself get to that point. Nurture your own soul. Replenish your energy reserves and make deposits to your energy bank by giving to yourself. Be your own Caregiver. When you feel good you have more to offer and can be a “cheerful Caregiver.”