Martha & Greg

The Spirit Of Giving

Posted by Martha & Greg Singleton , Wednesday, November 28, 2007 7:16 AM

I think, as a general rule, I tend to underestimate people. That realization came to me twice this past week, and the source of both revelations was an unlikely one – the public school system that we hear so many terrible things about.

Gilbert is a Bexar County juvenile probation officer whose job is to work within the schools to insure that troubled students stay on the straight-and-narrow. Actually, we’ve known Gilbert and his mom and dad and sister, Tara, more than twenty years now, back when he, himself, was just a kid. I can’t help it, but, to me, he’s still “Gibby”. As a probation officer, he’s doing a tremendous job touching teenagers’ lives, loving those unlovable ones, and being a no-nonsense voice of discipline for some kids who are in desperate need of structure in their lives. In visiting with these kids at school and in their homes, Gilbert noticed that many of them didn’t have coats to fend off the occasionally brutal blue northers that blow through South Texas. “It seemed like such a basic thing,” Gilbert told me. “But I realized that nobody had shown these kids enough love to even buy them a coat.” Starved for that love and attention, and lacking the stability that would make even the most humble house a home, these teens act out in socially unacceptable behavior.

But Gilbert has found a way to demonstrate his concern in a very practical way. He found a company that would sell him coats for $15. A probation officer with a wife and his own two little ones to support doesn’t have a lot of disposable income, but Gilbert and his family stretched their budget as far as possible to provide coats for the teens he is working with. But there was so much more that needed to be done. So, last week Gilbert started a movement.

He’s calling it “Got Your Back”, a reassuring reference to the support these kids need, as well as the coats he’s providing. His first order of business was to send an e-mail to all the faculty and staff at the high school, his alma mater, where Martha teaches and where Gilbert represents the Bexar County Probation Office. “I told them what I was doing,” he said, “and I couldn’t believe the response.” Within an hour, he had twenty pledges, and ten more before the day ended. The money was still rolling in yesterday when I spoke to him.

Annie, our daughter, teaches at a local middle school. Her husband, Robbie, is the youth pastor at Trinity Church, here in San Antonio. Last Christmas, the church youth group raised money to buy presents and throw a Christmas party for an orphanage in Nava, Mexico. I went with them, by the way, playing the role of Santa Claus. Annie teaches drama and she’s all about typecasting.

The trip to Mexico left such an impression on the kids from the church, that they have taken on that same task this year. The goal is to get every child in the orphanage a bicycle, something they all would love to have. Annie sent an e-mail to her fellow faculty members last week and informed them about the need, and the response was amazing. She called me up, with tears in her voice, to let me know that, by the end of the day, seven bicycles had been donated by her peers, and $200 had been collected. Since returning from the Thanksgiving holidays, the school is still buzzing about the opportunity, and even more has been pledged.

Those of us who consider ourselves "church people" may tend to get a little smug this time of the year. We become aware of so many opportunities for giving, and we’re moved to put forth a little effort to help out. That’s all very good. We pat ourselves on the back and reason that we’ve fulfilled our obligation for the year. But it’s no more than is happening in homes, schools, businesses and offices all over this country. Jesus never designated a certain season for giving. As Christ-followers, we need to expand our giving into a daily way of life. We need to set the example and lead the way, mirroring Jesus' heart for reaching out to others twelve months of the year.