by Amy Despain

I used to think I knew what charity was from what I was taught in church but I’m embarrassed to say that for me it included a “holier than thou” mindset. I felt like charity was loving and serving others but in more of a patronizing way, like, “I forgive you for being needy,” or, “I’ll love and serve you because Jesus would and I was taught to do what Jesus would do.” It was a thing on my checklist done rather insincerely. This past year I’ve experienced a significant amount of self-discovery and gone through a (sometimes painful) transformation. As part of that I’ve gained a new understanding of what I now believe is charity and I have my brother Trevor to thank.