It’s only a quarter.
A fraction of a dollar. One single coin.
It would barely buy a piece of gum these days.
But for our family it’s become a symbol of the power of giving. And an important reminder that raising generous kids is something that should never be too far from our minds.
Through the eyes of a child…
As a little girl I can vividly remember trips to the city to shop at a budget grocery store chain. We didn’t have anything like it in the rural area where I grew up. So, every once in a while we’d make the long drive to stock up on essentials.
I remember those trips well because they were so different from our usual grocery shopping routine. For one thing, at this store you sacked your own groceries.
For a little kid, sacking groceries ranks right up there with a trip to the park. Or at least for me it did. I can remember helping my mom and grandma push the heavy cart over to a long counter. I would pretend like I was a store employee as I bagged groceries like a pro.
But that wasn’t the only unique thing about this store. Shopping carts weren’t readily available upon store entry. Instead, you had to pay 25 cents to “rent” a cart. The carts were chained together in a long line outside the store. One quarter stuck into a slot in the cart released just that buggy. When your shopping was finished, you hooked the cart back up and out popped your quarter.
And to the delight of my younger self, I discovered depositing the quarter into the cart as we started and then getting it back again before we left was just as much fun as bagging groceries.
Those shopping trips are still near and dear to my heart because of the memories made with my mom and grandma. Little did I know that I would be making similar memories with my own children someday.
Fast forward more than three decades…
A different perspective…
Obviously, I’m not a little girl anymore. But I do have three girls of my own. And I no longer live in the country. In fact, we live in the middle of the city-right down the street from one of those same budget grocery store chains I grew up visiting.
And when our two oldest girls were little and money was tight, I found myself thinking back to those grocery store trips of my childhood. In an effort to spend less, I decided to start shopping at the budget grocery near our house.
It was a different store in a different city than the one I had frequented as a child. Yet those first few trips still seemed like a walk down memory lane.
A lot had changed since those visits with my mom and grandma. The place looked different than I remembered. But there was a familiarity about it all too. The food was definitely cheaper. You still sacked your own groceries.
And surprisingly, the cost of renting a grocery cart had stayed the same.
One quarter. Deposited in a little slot. And returned to you when the cart was put away.
Same coin. Same system.
But this time, I was seeing everything through the eyes of an adult. Keeping a running total as I added items to the cart so I wouldn’t overspend. Paying with exact change so I would have as much money as possible left over for our next store run.
And watching those come and go around me with a newfound appreciation for why shopping at that particular store was a necessity. Realizing many of them had even less than our family.
After my first few shopping, an idea began to form.
What does the Bible say about generosity? Read “20 Bible Verses About Giving“ and find out.
Generosity in action…
What if I didn’t’ take the quarter back after parking my shopping cart? If I didn’t hook it up and trigger the mechanism that loosened the coin? What if I left the cart free instead…ready for the next person to use.
Quarter and all.
It seemed like the tiniest act of generosity. One simple quarter. But I knew it was more about the gesture than anything else.
I knew what it felt like to depend on a store like this to provide groceries at a lower cost. I knew what it meant to literally count the pennies as you shopped.
And I especially knew what it felt like to get the kids all packed up, head to the store, get everybody out and over to the cart stall…only to realize I didn’t have a quarter that day.
It didn’t always happen, but more than once, I’d found an unattached cart left behind by another shopper. Whether on purpose or by oversight, it didn’t matter. In those instances, that cart had made my day.
It was a tiny blessing. But it made a big difference.
And I knew that I could easily be that blessing giver. Not only that-I could also teach my children a valuable lesson in the process.
Want practical ideas for raising generous kids? Check out “How to Teach Your Kids About Giving.”
The power of giving…
So, we started leaving a quarter in our cart every time we finished shopping. I explained my actions to my two little girls. We would leave our quarter to bless someone else.
It quickly became the best part of our weekly grocery shopping ritual. My girls would watch and see who would be the lucky cart recipient. And if no one was in the vicinity as we left, they would predict who might get to the unattached cart first.
As they got older and more confident, they began to pass the cart directly to someone that was headed into the store.
And an amazing thing happened.
Time after time, we witnessed people truly blessed by our small act of kindness.
We saw relief from a young mom because she was able to grab an unattached cart as she juggled multiple kids, grocery bags, and a purse.
Joy flooded a middle-aged woman’s face as she realized two little girls had saved their grocery cart just for her.
There was thankfulness in the eyes of an elderly gentlemen as he shuffled away with a cart that he didn’t have to unlock with that didn’t work so well anymore.
The power of giving wasn’t lost on my children. They saw the fruit of their actions. And it only made them want to give more.
It’s a long game…
Generosity isn’t something you can teach quickly. It doesn’t become a part of our children’s character after a couple of well-meaning talks or a few related experiences.
As with so many other things in parenting, the best way to teach generosity is by example. Your kids need to watch you live with an open hand. They need to understand that true generosity is not a one-time thing. It’s a lifestyle of giving.
Those kinds of lessons must be cultivated over time. Kids need multiple opportunities to see the power of giving. To witness it in action.
Most importantly, they need to have skin in the game. They need to be a part of the process.
Raising generous kids…
Our lessons in generosity may have started with a quarter at a grocery store. But they haven’t stopped there.
One of our Christmas traditions is packing shoebox gifts for needy children in other parts of the world. We shop together as a family and spend intentional time picking out and praying over our gifts.
We also give to other charities and organizations throughout the year. Anytime it’s possible for our kids to shop for the items we’re giving away, we include them in the process.
Obviously, we don’t share all the details of our finances with our children. But, we do make them aware of some of the ways in which we give of our time and resources.
Conversations about generosity take place often in our home. And I’m thankful for that.
Because raising generous kids doesn’t happen overnight. It’s an intentional investment spread over the many years of childhood.
It involves parents who take advantage of every opportunity to emphasize the importance of generosity. Those parents understand the power of giving is a special thing. And they pass that understanding on to their kids.
Those families recognize an important truth…True generosity can be life-changing. For the giver and the receiver.
Even if all they have is a quarter.
The power of giving can be life-changing. How do you teach generosity in your home? Please share in the comments below!
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