It was a really hot summer’s day many years ago. I was on my
way to pick up two items at the grocery store. In those days, I was a
frequent visitor to the supermarket because there never seemed to be
enough money for a whole week’s food-shopping at once.

You see, my young wife, after a tragic battle with cancer, had
died just a few months earlier. There was no insurance -- just many
expenses and a mountain of bills. I held a part-time job, which
barely generated enough money to feed my two young children.
Things were bad -- really bad.

And so it was that day, with a heavy heart and four dollars in
my pocket, I was on my way to the supermarket to purchase a gallon
of milk and a loaf of bread. The children were hungry and I had to
get them something to eat. As I came to a red traffic light, I noticed
on my right a young man, a young woman and a child on the grass
next to the road. The blistering noonday sun beat down on them
without mercy.

The man held up a cardboard sign which read, "Will Work for
Food." The woman stood next to him. She just stared at the cars
stopped at the red light. The child, probably about two years old, sat
on the grass holding a one-armed doll. I noticed all this in the thirty
seconds it took for the traffic light to change to green.

I wanted so desperately to give them a few dollars, but if I did
that, there wouldn’t be enough left to buy the milk and bread. Four
dollars will only go so far. As the light changed, I took one last
glance at the three of them and sped off feeling both guilty (for not
helping them) and sad (because I didn’t have enough money to share
with them).

As I kept driving, I couldn’t get the picture of the three of them
out of my mind. The sad, haunting eyes of the young man and his
family stayed with me for about a mile. I could take it no longer. I
felt their pain and had to do something about it. I turned around and
drove back to where I had last seen them.

I pulled up close to them and handed the man two of my four
dollars. There were tears in his eyes as he thanked me. I smiled and
drove on to the supermarket. Perhaps both milk and bread would be
on sale, I thought. And what if I only got milk alone, or just the
bread? Well, it would have to do.

I pulled into the parking lot, still thinking about the whole
incident, yet feeling good about what I had done. As I stepped out of
the car, my foot slid on something on the pavement. There by my
feet was a twenty-dollar bill. I just couldn’t believe it. I looked all
around, picked it up with awe, went into the store and purchased not
only bread and milk, but several other items I desperately needed.

I never forgot that incident. It reminded me that the universe
was strange and mysterious. It confirmed my belief that you could
never out give the universe. I gave away two dollars and got twenty
in return. On my way back from the supermarket, I drove by the
hungry family and shared five additional dollars with them.

This incident is only one of many that have occurred in my life.
It seems that the more we give, the more we get. It is, perhaps, one
of those universal laws that say, "If you want to receive, you must
first give."

There is a little rhyme that goes like this:

"A man there was, and they called him mad,
The more he gave, the more he had."

Most times, we think that we don’t have anything to give. Yet, if
we look more closely, we’ll see that even the little we have could be
shared with others. Let us not wait for a time when we think we’ll
have lots and then we’ll give. By giving and sharing the little we
have, we open up the storehouse of the universe and permit rivers of
good to come our way.

Don’t take my word for it. Just honestly try to give and you’ll be
surprised at the results. Generally, the returns do not come back
from those we give to. It comes back from sources we could hardly
imagine. So give your way to riches.

Take a chance on this universal principle. Take a chance on
yourself. Universal principles always work.

Sometimes the return from giving happens very quickly as in
the true story above. Other times, it takes much longer. But be
assured of this: Give and you will receive -- and you’ll receive lots
more than you ever gave.

And when you give, don’t do it with a heart of fear, but with a
heart full of gratitude. You will be amazed at how it all works out.
Open the gates of affluence in your life by giving a bit of what you
have to those in need. As the great Teacher said, Give and it will be
given unto you.

Try it. You’ll like it.