What Kind of Gift is This?

Sometimes gifts keep giving.

The first time I realized that gifts can exceed their worth or utility was during my run for Congress following a campaign debate. As I was getting into my car, a disheveled stranger ran up to me and said, “I’ve never made a political contribution in my life, but what you said spoke to my heart, so I want to make a donation.” With that, he pulled five dollars out of his tattered wallet and handed it to me. “I know it’s not much, but it’s all I have. Maybe I can give more later.” Although I was the underdog in a tough race, being the recipient of this man’s first campaign donation gave me the confidence to stay in the race. It was a gift money couldn’t buy.

I remembered that moment a few days ago while rolling coins into paper sleeves. The memory got triggered after one of my Youtropolis alliances stopped by unannounced to drop off his surprise “gift”. It was a large, heavy plastic bag filled to capacity with coins. “Here, I want you to have this to help pay for Youtropolis expenses.” Then he pulled some lottery scratchers out of his back pocket and handed them over. “Hope you win!”

I still don’t know how much all the coins will add up to, there are so many still to count, but what’s truly humbling is being on the receiving end of such an unexpected gift of love that embodied his personal faith in Youtropolis’ mission and ultimate success. How do you thank someone for that?

Over the weekend, I experienced another shock and awe moment when a Youtropolis tribe member and valued friend surprised me with her stunning generosity. Her sister-in-law had recently passed. “Her home is full of collectibles, antiques, and furniture,” she said. “You can take it all and sell it.”  Wow! Hearing that left me speechless. I couldn’t believe it. Who does that? I didn’t question it, but surely the hand of God was in the gift, saying, “Keep going!”

The truth is, what Youtropolis received in generosity and love so far this year is—beyond! Among these gifts are each and every valuable post and comment written by gifted, thoughtful members of Youtropolis who share their own love and wisdom for the good of all. How lucky I am to be the beneficiary of their time, thoughts, and inspirations—gifts that could never be matched or replicated by any form of AI.

Such amazing generosity has translated into our grassroots social safety net’s growth. This means our mission to liberate people from despair and inequity and lift them into love and prosperity continues. So far this month we’ve had over 22,000 page views!

It costs money to run servers, pay insurance, and keep up with all the ongoing development and maintenance costs, so we couldn’t be more grateful for any dollars that come through our “Help us grow” page. But equally, we love all the creative contributions of thoughts, ideas, and heartfelt writing that fill Youtropolis city landmarks. They make us proud and give our readers fresh perspectives on living and surviving through challenging times. Every comment, every post, and every postcard sent makes the journey worth it. It keeps us in this race. So keep it coming.

Youtropolis is about bringing out the best in everyone. So it’s fitting for me to mention here that another tribe member and valued friend discovered her own hidden talent as a writer when she courageously started writing and posting to Youtropolis. “Who knew?” she beamed. Now her gift is unearthed and being shared with thousands of readers. I am so proud of her talent and grateful for her courage.

What about you? What kind of gift will you share?

Note: This story was previously posted to Evangel by city founder Elisa Charouhas and Co-Founder of Youtropolis.