I’m entering a giveaway this time instead of offering one. A different kind of giveaway. Because it’s not a “w00t, w00t, look at the free stuff I won” kind of giveaway. It’s a “what kind of good can you do with all this cool stuff” giveaway. 50 bloggers are giving away $6000 in HP hardware. I may not even stand a chance. But in reading Sugar’s blog “Living in Theory“, I got the inspiration to deal with something that is weighing heavily on me and maybe turn this giveaway into a healing for moi as well as help out a group of deserving people.

I have been close to a Brazilian family here in Richmond for a long time. Honestly, one of the sisters has helped me clean my house for years. But we were very close and there was an understanding beyond worker/boss. I can’t clean my own house effectively because of back/knee/ankle difficulty and she went out of her way to help me.

She and her family here in the states ran a charitable drive through her church to send clothes, toys, household items and just about anything to her family’s church in Brazil. We gave them everything my kids outgrew as well as sorting bins, and gave furniture to newly arriving families from other countries. I enjoyed helping her cause.

She and her husband had to leave unexpectedly…to help an aging mother. Her sister helped me with cleaning and took over the charitable end of her project. I was troubled when her husband lost his job, and I gave him handyman projects around my house to do. It was even a lousy job and I didn’t complain. I let it go.

OK, now we get to the meaty part. Without getting into details, and keeping it short, they are trying to cheat me out of money. A lot of money. I have caught them in a string of changing lies. I am angry and hurt and sometimes when I think about it, I cry or stare into space with that deer in headlights look. I understand some people are desperate right now. Lord knows as a single mom, I don’t have the money that I used to. I have to fire her and it pains me to do so. I don’t want to put any more of a financial burden on them. I just won’t tolerate lying. If they had been honest from the beginning…it would be so different. Lies catch up to you…they should have known. The anger can eat me up, or I can take action to do something about it. I’m an action kind of person.

What I would like to do is make this donation to the Church. Their Church – to their Pastor…so many young people come to this country and find their way to that Church and I know that they could benefit either through upgrading their own technology, or giving it to the young people to help them as they start in this country. I’ve seen the good that they have done and met the young people there and believe in the work that they do. I’d donate any or all or whatever they can use. I know it will all be appreciated beyond belief.

And I will be able to begin to forgive and forget…and turn the other cheek.