EACH OF US has something to give…

Oseola McCarty lived in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She was an 88-year-old African-American woman who had been a washer-woman all her life. She lived in a small home left to her by her uncle, doing laundry for others out of her house for a few dollars at a time. She had a dog named Dog, a hog named Hog, and a cow named Hazel. She had lived by herself since 1967, working every day for a meager income.

On July 26, 1995 she did a very simple thing. She made a decision to give what she had to others. Over the years, she’d been saving the little money she made, never wanting much and never needing much. Knowing that she was getting up in age, she decided to dedicate her life savings to the University of Southern Mississippi to finance scholarships. She walked into her bank and asked them to give away her life savings, which amounted to several hundred thousand dollars. She did so without fanfare and without expecting anything in return.

She wrote and published a book of her sayings called Simple Wisdom for Rich Living. Oseola was not miracle worker. She had no extraordinary talent, athletic ability, musical ability, mental genius, status, or social connections to speak of. But she did have the ability to see and hear the world around her. She was not angry at society for her station in life. She did not pity herself. Instead of hoarding what she had to get through her dying days, she made a decision to give away what she had. She was born into poor circumstances, but she was rich in spirit and enriched the the lives of everyone around her.

What do you have to give that you are hoarding for yourself, or worse yet, not using it all? Daniel R. Castro, “The Decision Behind the Decision,” Critical Choices, 19-21

“She has done what she could…” Mark 14:8a

Mike Benson