Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.

The above words are commonly attributed to the 13th century Christian, Francis of Assisi though circumstantially, the attribution does not hold up.

The first half of the prayer talks about good and right things to aspire to sow. But I have been thinking more about the “in giving that we receive” part. And truly, without exception, when I take part in any “service” work in recovery, I am rewarded with a more meaningful existence. I suspect this inherent desire to do service, to be a part of, to be in community with, or to share our experience, strength, and hope is something that is hard-wired into our True Selves.

Further, consider – when I deliver meals on wheels, serve food to the homeless, give money to a person in need, I always “feel better” after the fact. My wife and I hosted a young woman from another country in our home for a couple of years while she was in graduate school. Several of her family members attended her graduation. They expressed very sincere and abundant thanks to us for hosting their daughter/niece/granddaughter. I responded that I was very appreciative of their thanks, but needed to express my thanks to them for the opportunity to do the hosting and be in relationship. I experience a similar sense of gratitude to the students I worked with over the years.

It is in giving that we receive.

I do not write this post to allege that I exude some sort of hyper level of altruism. I don’t think that is the case. I do believe that when we are mindful of “in giving that we receive” we recognize that basic truth.

The reciprocal situation is accepting from others so that they can experience the in “giving that we receive” as well. My favorite Christmas card I received this year was from a man who “receives” where I go on Tuesday afternoons to help serve a meal and provide a night of shelter to homeless folks. He handed me the card in an envelope. Nothing was written on the card or the envelope. When he gave me the card, he said, “This is not much but it is in the spirit of Christmas.” I thanked him for the card. I wondered if he was too rushed to sign the card. I wondered if he had never received a Christmas card before and did not know that you were supposed to sign your name. That is all pretty immaterial. Accepting and thanking him for the card allowed him to be a part of the in “giving that we receive” equation.

The card sits on my desk today.

How do you take part on both sides of the “in giving we receive” equation?