"4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men." 1 Corinthians 12:4-6
On January 8 a phone call came in that day from a dear friend telling me there was something wrong on Twitter (a social networking site http://www.twitter.com/) causing many thoughts to go through my head along the lines of somone said something terribly rude, feelings were hurt or something like that. My friend stuttered a bit, and I implored her to tell me. "Ashley was in an accident." Silence.
Ashley Dianne Brewer Spencer was the victim of a terrible vehicle accident. From her obituary: "She is survived by her husband, Peter Spencer, a native of Reading, England; father and mother, Joseph B. and Dianne Montgomery Brewer; daughter, Lucy Dianne Spencer; son, Toby Peter Spencer; two sisters, Stephanie and Cresta Brewer; brother, Craig Brewer; maternal grandmother, Ava Leonard; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Ron and Sue Spencer; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, David and Linda Spencer; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins." And at least 209 followers on http://www.twitter.com/ where she warns us "The postpartum hormones are raging, watch out! "
"Why thank you @mosqueda, have a cupcake" was the first Tweet from Ashley to me on July 7, 2007. I think it had something to do with her Twitter avatar, a small photo usually depicting the user in some way. With Ashley it was often related to Louisiana State University. On this day, her avatar must have had something to do with a cake. I don't remember. I only see 28 tweets from Ashley invovling me directly, but I most certainly remember following her preganancy and really enjoying getting to know her. Out of her 5,595 twitter postings, I was a tiny little percentage.
Yet I still felt very connected to her. She was clearly vivacious, but with a real, gritty side to her. "So... looked down and realized i'm POPPING out of my shirt, hello third trimester girl growth... should've noticed before left for work." It was just the genuine look at her that drew me in to actually pay attention to her tweets.
When I found out she had passed, I was crushed. The night before we had a small exchange "@mosqueda um, no question, y'all need to yell Geaux Tigers!" 08:16 PM January 07, 2008. About 12 hours or so later, we lost her earthly presence, though she remains in many hearts.
What to do? I'd seen many folks raise money for different causes, and I literally felt (didn't hear Him) God nudge me to do something for her family. I knew she and her husband, Peter, were young. I remembered going through the death of my twin girls shortly after they were born, and the pain we felt. There wasn't much I could do, but the idea of getting folks together to chip in lingered.
I visited http://www.chipin.com/ and took the plunge. I picked a number out of the air: $5,000. That amount was raised in less than 3 days. I was stunned. Behind the scenes it was recommended I up the goal to $6,000. The goal sat unmet for a few days, but one morning I "retweeted" the donation website http://ashpeamama.chipin.com/ashley-spencers-family link. And watched the donations flow in until finally we hit $8,050.
After PayPal fees, the gift given to Peter, Toby and Lucy Spencer was $7,800. Peter will use this money to help pay cash for a reliable vehicle to replace the vehicle "totaled" in Ashley's accident.
A lot of people thanked me for putting this together and frankly I was honored, yet embarassed. But what this whole experience showed me was that I answered God's call by using gifts he gave me to help Ashley's family. What are those gifts? I'd say compassion and empathy first and foremost. I just felt a terrible loss and resulting love and compassion for Ashley's family. 1 Corinthians 12 tells us that God describes some us as "those able to help others, those with gifts of administration." I guess that's me. So, I must give glory to God for making our collective gift to Ashley possible.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Gifts
Sphere: Related Content
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
There's a saying - almost a cliche - that chides believers for being too heavenly minded to be any earthly good. I'm glad you're one who goes against that particular flow.
It's always amazing to see how effortlessly everything works out when we act in obedience to HIS leading.
Thank you Dan, for being available when God called you to reach out to a family in need.
I believe it was Chuck Smith who said: "God doesn't call the equipped, he equips who he calls."
And as a humorous side note to RJ, It has been mentioned in response to that quote that "How can you be of any earthly good if your mind is not set on heavenly things?"
I'm very proud of you Danny for not just thinking about it like so many of us do but taking that step to make something happen. You are a gift to your family 2x over. Just a little over a year ago God placed people around you to help keep you here on earth. Maybe, one reason was so you could be here to share this gift with Ashley's family. Love you cousin!
Dan,
Your humility in turns humbles me. Your generosity motivates me to be a better person. Thank you for listening to the nudge.
Aloha,
NEENZ
Thanks for writing this, and for putting together the fund. I'm so glad to have been able to be a part of this if only in a small way. Things like this show me that what we have growing in places like twitter is a real community where when we are called to we reach out and help in whatever way we can. Thank you.
Beautiful gesture.
Beautiful man.
Beautifully written.
Angles really do exist.
Here's proof.
Hugs and love,
Mudd a.k.a. Oza
xoxo
That would be "Angels," of course.
:-)
Dan - Thank you for being such a wonderful example for others to emulate. The love and concern of a disparate group spread far and wide was made real and concrete for Ashley's family because of your efforts. Thank you!
You did good! Keep leading by example and those who know you will continue to be blessed.
Dan, you are a true inspiration. I wasn't aware of what had happened until going back through your blog this night. Your post touched me like few posts ever have. God bless you and the bereaved.
Post a Comment