April 19, 2019 | Impact
For the fifth year in a row, LifeGuide’s “Share the Blessing” campaign was a great success! We want to thank all those who partnered with us to bless our local community in this unique way. Over the next five weeks, we will be sharing the touching stories from this year’s campaign. We were inspired and amazed by this year’s stories, and we think you will be too!
As a reminder, during this past Christmas season, we sent $75 to a number of randomly selected clients to personally share with an individual or family in need of an unexpected blessing.
Please find below the forth selection of stories.
We prayerfully chose to share the money with a friend who has given their life to helping the impoverished in our community. This individual has fallen on tough times and will benefit from the gift. Thank you for the opportunity to share with someone in need in your behalf this Christmas.
We were able to help a young newly married couple and their children from a blended family. The Blessing was helpful for them because the young man works very hard and is devoted to his family. This gift will help them celebrate Christmas focusing on Jesus. We interact with the young man on a regular basis. He is always kind and thankful no matter what the circumstance, a truly humble person. Presenting this gift to him and his family was special because every time we are blessed to be around him will remind us of sharing the special gift of Christmas, Jesus Christ. Thank you for allowing us to participate in “Share the Blessing.” It forced us to think of all those in need in our immediate circle. We are so thankful for LifeGuide’s wonderful generosity and Christ-centered focus.
I was tearful when my husband read to me what LifeGuide had sent us. What an awesome opportunity. He doesn’t pray but was open to having me pray over the money. It sat on our dresser for weeks with no family in sight. Then my girlfriend texted a group of us about a family with little kids…their apartment burned down. They lost everything just days before Christmas. I was overcome with emotion knowing just what we could give thanks to LifeGuide. We hope they buy whatever they need…food, supplies, home goods. I feel we are a family always looking for a chance to give back. What I enjoyed about this was allowing God to place it in front of us. I love watching Him work. I hope this allows the family not only to get what they need but also to know God even closer through this journey. Thank you for doing this! Inspired by LifeGuide, we also found another couple and gave them $75 from us. Thanks for the motivation.
Through Share the Blessing, I was able to help a single mother of two boys. One son graduated from HS, the other has intellectual disabilities. This mother had to deal with emotional issues recently – a death in her family as well as issues with the boys’ father. The father was in & out of prison, involved in drug use, extra affairs. She’s also having some medical issues. Her older son wanted to go to college but was unable to do so. It will help with financial needs. It was such a blessing to be a part of this. Such a neat experience. Thank you for letting me be a part of this blessing. Twofold blessing!
We contacted our church, who contacted their daycare. They were able to identify a family who could use some help at Christmas in providing for their family. The Blessing was helpful because they had a financial need. This is a great idea. We added $25 to the $75 to make it an even $100. It felt good to give a family a much needed and unexpected gift at Christmas. We are considering doing it on our own next year.
We shared this special blessing with a single mother raising three teenage boys on her own. This wonderful lady was extremely grateful because they are now able to have a Christmas dinner for her children. It was such a blessing to give to someone that would not have had money to provide dinner for her family. It was very touching how this blessed this family. This was very touching because it was an example of the true meaning of Christmas. This giving made such an impact for this family.
With Share the Blessing, we were able to help a family in our church. I don’t know exactly what their needs are…but I know they could use & appreciate a blessing! This family comes to church every Sunday with their two children – one of them has Downs & is delightful but very curious, which keeps the family distracted and sometimes stressed. The boy’s sister is so sweet, patient, friendly, but sometimes must take the “back seat” to her brother. I handed her the envelope and said it was a gift for their family! Thanks for giving us this opportunity!
We were able to help “John and Jill.” John is turning 76 next week. His last five years haven’t been good. He developed dementia. As it progressed, he had to give up his part-time job, could no longer drive, needs help getting dressed and has trouble with his mobility. Yet he smiles through it all! Thanks for reminding us what Christmas – and every day – is all about.
Recently our church partnered with a local Christian business owner to move a single mom with four children who were living in a hotel into a house by paying their security deposit and first month’s rent. The $75 gift was helpful to be able to provide them some food for Christmas. I cannot imagine not being able to provide meals for your children. With school being out, they will not be getting breakfast and lunch through our school system. There are many layers to us helping this family. Not only were they able to get into a home, but also one of the small groups in our church provided gifts for the children, and then we were able to make sure they had food for Christmas. I pray they see the Lord through the many acts of kindness and provision they received. Thanks for using some of your resources to bless people with the hope of Jesus!
Through Share the Blessing, I was able to help “Don,” who has been battling cancer, and while his insurance covers a lot of his treatments, his medications/treatments far exceed what the company will pay for. He works part-time to help support his family, but it is still not enough. It is overwhelming to see the bills come in for his life-saving treatment. He and his wife have never been ones to ask for help or a hand-out, but they greatly need and deserve it. I was thankful that by “sharing the blessing,” he and his family knew that there were people who cared about them and their well-being. Thank you for choosing me to help “share the blessing”! I prayed for God to bring someone to my mind who truly needed it, and I felt like Don was the right choice.
Through Share the Blessing, we were able to help our dear friends, K & M. Several years ago, K lost his job. His current job pays significantly less than his previous job. K & M live simply in a small one-bedroom apartment and are careful about their spending. Shortly after Christmas, M was in an accident that totaled her aging car. The Blessing was helpful for the recipients because it will help them with the purchase of a used car. After a prayerful conversation, we decided to use some of our emergency savings and add it to LifeGuide’s Blessing to help K & M purchase a dependable used car. These gifts will be added to the modest amount they expect to receive from their insurance company. When I presented this monetary gift to our friends, they were overwhelmed and expressed sincere gratitude. They also viewed this gift as a provision from the Lord. I explained that $75 of the gift was provided by a local financial advisory company that has been helpful to us and who desires to do good in our community. K & M come from a cultural background different than our own. Their worship traditions are much different than those to which we are accustomed. However, a mutual love for Christ has drawn our hearts together. Our lives have been enriched by our friendship with them.
First, I want to sincerely thank you for allowing us the opportunity to do some good. The holidays are always so frantic, that I had completely lost sight of how important it is to make someone’s day. I took the opportunity to help one of the Home Health Aides that works for a home care agency. It would break your heart to know the hardship that these individuals go through to scratch out a life earning what the government pays them to take care of our elderly and fragile family members. Most can’t live on what they earn and must work multiple jobs. “Odette” is an aide who has worked for us for a while. She is currently homeless (she’s currently staying in a shelter) and that impacts our ability to reach her to give her more work. With all of that weighing on her, she is always professional and courteous to the people she supports. How will the money help? It gives her train fare to get to her assignments and helps with cell phone bills which is the only way we have now to reach her for additional assignments. She could not stop saying thank you.
After prayerful consideration and the timing of events, I was able to assist an older couple, in their late 60’s. The wife works a modest secretarial job and her husband was recently laid off from work. This week their only working vehicle broke down. This gift will help cover the unexpected cost for the repairs. This was special for me because of how I understood the providence of God to work. My wife and I continually prayed about a family we could help. We selected a family, but we were unable to give the gift to them due to schedule conflicts. Then we became aware of this need and it seemed more urgent, so we decided to assist this couple instead. I want to express my gratitude for allowing my wife and me to have a chance to bless others. This has been a deeply rewarding experience. It was a joy to see the great gratitude this couple felt and share when they were given the card and envelope.
All included names have been changed to maintain anonymity.
“Share the Blessing” is not part of LifeGuide Financial Advisors’ advisory services but a campaign where participation and sharing of stories is voluntary. For information about LifeGuide’s advisory services, please refer to our ADV-Disclosure Brochure.