We make a living by what we get;
We make a life by what we give
-Winston Churchill
There are three kinds of people we tend to remember throughout our lives: those we love, those we hate, and those who are so unprecedented we can't help but remember them.
Donna Mae* came to my adult vocational class as a middle-aged woman finishing her education and training for a job less physically demanding than her previous employment. This situation is not uncommon, as many individuals find that as they age their bodies cannot handle the same type of physical work that they performed in their youth.
Donna Mae attended classes at my school for two semesters. I work at a small, faith-based vocational school, where students and staff have ample opportunity to build relationships. Throughout those two semesters, I was able to steal a glimpse of what it was like to be in Donna Mae's shoes, and I couldn't help but marvel at her perseverance and her heart for others.
I do not know what her childhood was like, but I do know that Donna Mae spent her young adulthood addicted to drugs and homeless. At some point, she accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and almost immediately was able to maintain sobriety. He took the chains of addiction away from her and in their place He filled her with His love and Holy Spirit.
Things never really got easier for Donna Mae, however at some point she obtained housing and decided to attend a local community college. Against all odds, after multiple years of not giving up, Donna Mae earned an Associate's Degree. During this time, Donna Mae learned to overcome her learning disability and refused to accept failure as an option. She was extremely proud of that degree, as was those who supported her and cheered her on.
It was after earning her Associate's Degree that Donna Mae came to the school where I am a teacher. After my initial meeting with Donna Mae, two things about her were very apparent: she loved the Lord, and she was an extremely unique individual.
As we got to know Donna Mae, we began to see her deep love and compassion for the homeless. This was evident in a project she had completed for the local community college she attended, which was a model for a self-sufficient homeless shelter, complete with a greenhouse. She actually had the opportunity to present her model to local city officials, and it was her dream to see a shelter such as hers become operational for the many homeless in our area with nowhere to go.
Her compassion went beyond simply creating a model homeless shelter, however. On many occasions, Donna Mae took food to known homeless camps or to a local men's shelter. What made these acts so striking to me was her willingness to give to others when she herself had so little. Donna Mae was on a fixed income and not working because she was still attending classes. She often only ate one meal per day and rationed out her food and gas so that she would not run out before she was able to get more. Even when she had so little at home to eat, Donna Mae would ask if she could take leftovers from our potlucks to the local men's shelter- and never kept any for herself.
Last Thanksgiving, Donna Mae expressed her plans to go to a local church's free Thanksgiving meal, and she said that she was going to drive around and look for a homeless person or hitchhiker to take with her. Upon coming back from Thanksgiving break, we discovered that that was exactly what she had done. She drove around until she found someone to take to the free Thanksgiving meal, then they went and played free bingo at another local church.
It was this kind of selfless, uninhibited living that made Donna Mae so intriguing. She put others first when it meant suffering for herself- and she did it willingly and joyfully. This lifestyle kept her dependent on the Lord to provide for her, and she always trusted in Him to do just that.
Just as she was finishing her classes at the vocational school where I teach, Donna Mae became ill and discovered that she had cancer. She was extremely sad when she had to miss our graduation ceremony, as she was very proud of her accomplishments because she had to work so hard to earn her certificate.
Even when she was sick, Donna Mae remained hopeful and joyful. She trusted that Jesus was taking care of her, and she never lost sight of her dream of seeing her plans for a homeless shelter come to fruition. Her goal was to get better so that she could get busy doing God's work.
Sadly, Donna Mae lost her battle to cancer last month. As heartbreaking as that was to hear, I am so happy to know that she is dancing and singing praises in the presence of her one and only love- Jesus Christ. We celebrated Thanksgiving a few days ago, and I couldn't help but think of Donna Mae driving around in her car, looking for someone to take to the free Thanksgiving dinner. I know that if she were still here, that's exactly what she would have been doing.
Most people who met Donna Mae wrote her off as weird or out in left field. I myself questioned the prudence of giving to others when you yourself have almost nothing. Yet isn't that what God calls us all to do? To give the shirt off our own back if we see a brother in need? And the more I thought about Donna Mae, the more I wondered if she was the one who had it all figured out, and I was the one missing the big picture.
When the world beat her down and told her she was worthless, Donna Mae stood back up and gave that same world what little she had. She didn't do it for the praise of men, because she received none. She didn't do it for the tax write-off, because she had no money. She did it because that's what Jesus called her to do, and she did it with joy and gladness. Her reward was not of this world, because she was not of this world. Her reward was in heaven, where she is now made complete in Christ Jesus, her Lord and Savior.
I didn't know Donna Mae very well, but I didn't need to in order to see the true beauty of her life. That beauty was the love of Jesus shining through her, and I can only hope that He shines through me just as brightly.
*Donna Mae's real name has been withheld in respect to her family