Generosity

Garden Lily, Ginter Botanical Gardens, Richmond, VA

Good will come to him who is generous…

Psalm 112:5

Last night I participated in a two-mile walk to raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – an event to raise awareness for blood cancers.  One of my colleagues at work has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and this is the second year that we have formed a team – Benjamin & Friends – for the fight against this deadly disease.  This year our team had 39 walkers of all ages.

The walk started at 7:00pm when it was already dark, and we had a police vehicle that led us through the walk route.  At most of the major intersections there were police men or women who held back traffic until the entire group had passed through.  As in any group, there were fast walkers, medium walkers and slow walkers, and gaps began to form in the line as these sections began to separate.  I learned a long time ago that to be safe at a night walk, I walk fast and right behind the lead police car.  A vehicle waiting for the entire group to pass would probably be sitting for around 20 minutes, and inevitably tempers begin to flair. 

When we reached the last major intersection, it was immediately obvious that there was no officer on the street to hold back the traffic.  As soon as the first break came in the walkers, cars came rushing through the opening.  When the light changed, the walkers proceeded to move forward, but when the light went against them, the cars began to move directly and aggressively into the people, horns blaring and curses resounding.  Watching the group from a side street, a driver could not miss the gist of what we were doing.  We were all carrying balloons with blinking lights, and all dressed in identical t-shirts.  That did not appear to matter to the impatient drivers.  One young girl had to be literally jerked out of the way of an oncoming gunner who otherwise would have hit her.  

Generosity comes in many forms.  There were musicians and volunteers who generously gave of their time to host this event.  There were generous corporate sponsors who provided food and refreshment, drinks and snacks, and money for the cause.  There were the police officers who generously gave of their time to keep us safe on the route.  How nice it would have been if that generous spirit had come from the hearts of the drivers whose way we were blocking for a relatively short portion of their evening.