I had just arrived to a foreign country where its beautiful mountains were gazing upon me from almost every direction. It was late October. Red and yellow colors of falling leaves playfully danced in the air. As I watched the leaves touch the cold ground, suddenly I realized that the Indian summer was over and the weather was about to turn to its white and frosty self. I had neither a coat nor the means to obtain one.
I watched the excitement of my other foreign friends as they were getting their new and lavish coats. There was one friend whose joy was the hardest to forget: she had just gotten a brand new snow-like white coat with fur decor to replace her scruffy old one that she had had for years. It was exciting to watch her joyfully swing in her new beautiful coat, yet I was put into realization that I still did not have one.
A few days later that girl knocked on my door. I was surprised to see her. She was holding a nicely wrapped bundle in her hands. She gently smiled at me and, while passing the bundle to me, said: “I heard that you might need this.” As I unwrapped the bundle, I saw the brand new snow-like coat with fur decor, the very same one she had on that she was joyfully swinging around the other day. On top of the coat was a pair of brand new leather gloves. I looked back at the girl: as she reached out to give me a hug, I felt the prickles of her scruffy old coat that she was wearing.
Till this day I am grateful for the snow-white coat and the pair of leather gloves, but I am most grateful for the lesson I learned from the girl. Giving is not about giving someone the things that I don’t need. Giving is about giving someone what they are in need of, even if it means giving my best.