I’LL NEVER FORGET!

Many people have unforgettable moments or experiences that leave significant marks on their lives.  These experiences can be terrifying, terrific, victorious, or failing. I’ll never forget my experience.  It happened in the fall of 1980 in Santa Clara, California. That city has an awesome amusement park called “Great America”.  My mother had a business meeting at its conference center and asked that I accompany her on the two hour trip. As an eleven year old boy who wouldn’t take up the opportunity to hang out all day at an amusement park?

When we arrived at the conference center I was to meet up with the family of one of my mother’s business associates and hang out with them at the park. Unfortunately the family never showed up.  I was at the conference center with my mother with no one to accompany me to the amusement park. To say I was disappointed would have been an understatement.  One of the business executives at the meeting happened to notice I and my mother’s situation.  He came over and told my mother he had a teenage son and his son’s friend who was about to head over to the park and if it would be ok if I accompanied them.  My mother gladly agreed and off to the park I went.

As this young African American boy trots off to the park with two Caucasian teens he does not know (You will see why I bring up our racial background in a minute), I noticed that these older boys came from very affluent means.  I was only given $20 to spend on myself for the entire day while these boys had hundreds of dollars each on them.  As I took off with them I’ll admit I was a little nervous but I noticed a wonderful thing.  These two boys engaged me and treated me like I was their new best friend!!

We got on rides, laughed, and joked the entire day.  What I also noticed was that they never let me spend any of my money.  If I wanted to play a game they paid for it!  When we would get a bite to eat they paid for it! We would go from ride to ride with them asking me along the way what I wanted to ride next!  They caused me to experience something that day that would impact my life forever! That something was generosity!!

What was significant about this generosity was it was given to me unconditionally and with no ulterior motives. Isn’t that what the Father did when He gave his Son (John 3:16)? You know we are most like God when we give. There were three elements found in the generosity of these teens that I will share with you that if applied will change a life.

Element #1: Attitude

Attitude is so important in the actions of life.  It is not so much what we do but the mindset we do it in.  I brought up earlier that I am African-American and the two teens where Caucasian. But do you want to know something?  That did not matter!! Our racial make-up did not mean a thing because what was being done was done from their hearts and it showed in their actions.  These teens had a grateful attitude throughout the day and it manifested in their generosity to me.  An attitude of gratitude will make one generous.

Element #2:  Self-Worth

These guys treated me like a king that day and it caused me to act like one.  Generosity gives a sense of self-worth.  To the recipient it gives the message, “You Matter!” Just one small act of generosity can cause a person to feel that life is worth living, that its worth trying harder, that its worth not giving up.

Element #3:  Motivation

That day’s generosity produced a motivation in me to pass along generosity to others.  I saw such a rich example of what their generosity was doing for me.  I saw a richer example of what it was doing for these two guys.  It gave them so much joy to give that day that it became contagious.  Today I live to give!!

Leaving the park that evening on the ride home with my mother my thoughts were not on the rides, the games played, or the food eaten.  My unforgettable thoughts were and even now 40 years later on the generosity I experienced that day. I have forgotten the names of these two awesome guys and I haven’t seen them since that day.  There is one thing I will never forget.  I will never forget the attitude, I will never forget the self-worth, and I will never forget the motivation wrapped up in their generosity to me on that day!