Okay, so I admit it. We are trying to stay away from donuts, and eat healthy things like, well, fruit.  That’s not always easy when you are on the go, and particularly when you go to those special banquets and they tempt you with crazy, luscious kinds of desserts.

So there I was confronted with a chocolate, caramel mousse.  My wife led the way and asked our steward for a fruit plate.  I agreed as well, and we passed on the mousse thing.

But the way these big events go is that they sometimes last for more than one day.  This event was in fact at the Ritz Carlton, and it was 3 days and two nights.  You know what that means:  two days of dessert, two days of temptation.

Well, because we had such a big event, we had a steward assigned to our event.  He oversaw everything—the servers, the coffee, the drinks, the snacks, the sound, the lighting…everything.  I watched him.  He stood in the back of the room and observed.  If there was a need, he met it.  One guest jokingly said that he needed more dessert.  And before you knew it, he had a three layer chocolate cake to boot.

In the second night of our temptation, it came desert time.  The second night was better than the first.  It looked like some kind of coconut custard supreme—too good to describe.  I was ready to cave.

The steward saved me.  He had observed the night before.  I got the fruit plate without even asking.  Rasberries.  Blueberries.  Pineapple.  All fresh.  All healthy.   I thanked him—sincerely I did.  I was touched by his generous act.

Indeed, generosity begins with observation.

Bill High

Bill is CEO & Founder of Vyne Legacy. He works with families to equip them with tools to build multigenerational legacies, and he teaches givers and financial advisers on transformational biblical generosity. He is the co-author with David Green of Giving It All Away and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously.

Published October 24, 2011

Topics: Lessons with Bill

Generosity StoriesLessons with Bill