Spirit Rising Ministries

I recently had the pleasure of spending two nights at Foxwoods Casino with my sweetheart. He had received a promotion which allowed us to attend their New Year’s Eve party and enjoy exquisite accommodations for free. We had a delightful time but what I want to talk about is the age old lesson, “to give is to receive” that was so clearly demonstrated to me (twice!) during our stay.

 The first time was when Johnny helped an elderly gentleman out of an awkward situation at the pool. He couldn’t get himself up out of his lounge chair, so Johnny went over to assist him. The next morning, to my amazement considering the thousands of people there and the number of restaurants available, we ended up seated right next to the man and his wife! He came over and thanked Johnny again for his help and, before they left, the waitress came over and told us that the man had already paid for our meal.

 After breakfast, Johnny paid $80 towards an extravagant item that I had really wanted to buy. I was grateful that he treated me but was feeling a little guilty about letting him. Afterwards, he told me that he still had a $2.50 voucher so, before we headed for home, he decided to bet it all in one shot on a 1 cent machine. He pushed the button and the machine lit up. He ended up winning $90!!!

 What struck me about these two events was that they were in sharp contrast with the rest of the weekend that we spent trying to “get” something. Sure, a small, undefined amount of money was surely won (and then lost) over the weekend but not in amounts we kept track of. But after Johnny helped that man, our $50 meal got paid for and right after he spent $80 on me, he won $90. The message was clear. Johnny was the “giver” in these two instances but he really helped remind me that all that I give is truly given to myself.

 Let your spirit soar!
Paula