How Charity Wins

“My friends told me I shouldn’t help!”  Mik Stockton

How Charity Wins

“Are you going to be at our group’s meeting on Tuesday?” Mik called to ask me.

“I’m planning on it.”  I replied.  “Perhaps we can take some time after the meeting to catch up?”

“That would be great! I have a lot to tell you because it’s been a few weeks since we’ve talked.  I’m looking forward to our chat.”  Mik finished.

As it turned out, I needed to wrestle a couple of alligators snapping at my business so, we didn’t get together until two days later on Thursday.  Mik understood, because he’d been wrestling relationship alligators for several years; and a lot recently.  I knew a little of what he’d been struggling with, but I had no idea that he’d just stared down the biggest “snapper” any of us will ever face and had won!

I’ll share a little of Mik’s story and our conversation with you, so you’ll understand.

Mik sat directly across from me when we met and looked right into my eyes as he said, “You know most of my friends have been telling me I’m nuts for helping my ex-wife?”

About three years ago Mik’s then-wife decided she didn’t want to be married to him anymore.  Soon thereafter, she began to date her high school sweetheart from more than thirty years ago.  That caused them to split, as you can imagine!  Then, not long ago, Mik received a direct call from his ex-wife’s current man-friend telling him that she’d just been admitted to a hospital, in an adjoining state, as a result of a heart attack and that she was likely not going to live.  Could Mik put any hard feelings aside so he could help his ex-wife in her time of need?

“You know, I did it!”  Mik said.  “I dropped everything and traveled to the hospital to hold her hand.  And, she lived!  I even drove her home and I’ve been spending the last few weeks nursing her back to health in her house.  My friends told me I shouldn’t help!  But you know?  We have history together and we were married for more than twenty years.  How could I not help her in her time of need?”

I returned Mik’s gaze and saw more than warm, moist eyes looking back.  Many people think that charity is some spare change that you give a stranger out of pity.  But, Mik’s eyes, and actions, give it another, deeper meaning!

Charity is giving your personal pure love to others.  It means when someone else has hurt you directly, face-to-face, right to the core, you still serve them and show uncorrupted, unconditional love and caring.  That’s the definition of charity I saw first-hand shining through Mik’s eyes.

“You’re an amazing person!”  I said in a whispered voice of reverence.

After all, I had been in a pit wrestling a business alligator while Mik had stared down, and wrapped his arms around the proverbial jaws of a monster snapper!  The ability to conquer personal pain, disappointment and sorrow, simply because it’s the right thing to do for another human being!

Mik has shown you and me “How Charity Wins!”