A Generosity Story: How a Single Mom Benefitted from the Sale of an Office Building

Starting Point: The Zenith building in downtown Sarasota sells for $24 Million in January.

Generosity Step #1: The Zenith decides to give away thousands of dollar’s worth of furniture and equipment in the 12-story building to area nonprofits. Two of our staff make a visit and claim tables and chairs valued at $8,000.

Generosity Step #2: Sunshine Movers, who donates their time/truck/employees to assist nonprofits, picks up the donated furniture from The Zenith and delivers it to our administration office.

Generosity Step #3: Rather than discard the gently used furniture in our counseling offices The Zenith donations replaced, we look for another nonprofit to donate them to. Six days later we respond to a Facebook post sharing the need for furniture for an apartment for a single mom and her child.

Generosity Step #4: Two staff members of Hope City Church that partners with our Center offer their time and trucks to deliver the furniture to the nonprofit. Tonight, this apartment now has a couch, loveseat, and five accessory chairs.

It took several decisions made by several people to keep the generosity going long enough that a mother and her daughter feel more at home, feel comfort, feel cared for, feel loved, and feel seen.

Generosity starts with one decision. It also ends with one decision. Let’s keep making the right one.

Prayer: Like Riding Shotgun

Prayer. It’s a subject that raises many emotions, beliefs, and practices.

About it, a friend told me this today:

I believe the Father and Son want a conversation. I’ve struggled with prayer having been raised in a church where everything was so formal. When I began talking to our Father like he was riding shotgun in my truck, I began to feel the difference.

Now that’s an image to check out how one’s prayer life is going.

  • Is anyone riding shotgun?
  • If so, who?
  • Is it any person of the Trinity?
  • How balanced is the conversation?
  • How much listening is happening?
  • How long is the trip?
  • Does the conversation ever stop?
  • If so, what stops it?
  • What happens in the conversation lull?

Suggestion: use this imagery the rest of this week. See what changes in your praying. Who knew prayer could be like riding shotgun?

Photo Credit: Unsplash/Sinitta Leunen