My grandmother was an amazing woman. She was strong and proud and smart, and extremely loving and generous. She was, without a doubt, the matriarch of our family. She taught me many, many lessons that live with me yet today.

The place where she taught me most of my lessons was in her big, heavy, red upholstered rocking chair, with me on her lap. She taught me simply by talking to me, or I’d lie down in her lap and she’d rock me while singing me hymns. She also let me play horsie on it by straddling the big stuffed arms and rocking wildly back and forth. It had been her mother’s chair before her. It’s the same big, heavy, red upholstered rocking chair which is sitting no more than three feet from me as I type this. Its color clashes with every other piece of furniture in my livingroom, but you know what? I couldn’t care less. It is much, much more than just a chair. It represents the wisdom of the ages.

One of the lessons I vividly remember her teaching me while sitting in that chair was the lesson of Matthew, Chapter 6, verse 3. Back then, though, I didn’t know it was Matthew 6:3; I simply knew it as something important my grandma was telling me. She said, “But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth”. When I asked her what it meant, she told me it meant that when you do something good, or something generous and giving, don’t brag about it. Let it be a secret; it’s more meaningful that way. It wasn’t until later that I found out what the following verse was. Matthew 6:4 reads “That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly”.

I took that lesson and have held it close my entire life. I’ve held that humility is very important, and have tried to live my life that way always. And not just because I believe God sees me when I’m humble or that it’s the right thing to do, but because it actually feels good. It’s an amazing feeling to do something good for someone and tell absolutely no one.

All of this was brought back to me tonight in a big way when I read that someone only wishing to be known as “Anonymous Friend” gave $100 million to the Erie Community Foundation, and all of the charities would receive a share. Some of those charities include a homeless shelter whose previous largest donation was $25,000; they will be receiving $2 million. Another is the Achievement Center, which provides physical therapy and other services to children. The center, which serves 3,200 children a year, will also get $2 million. Those are only 2 of forty-six charities which will benefit from this anonymous friend’s amazing generosity.

Mike Batchelor, president of the Erie Community Foundation, has been sworn to secrecy and will allow only that the donor worked with the organization for years to identify deserving recipients before the announcement over the summer. That, my friends, is the lesson my grandmother taught me, personified. It is exactly how we should all give, regardless of what it is we are giving. It should come from our hearts, with true sincerity and love, not so we can get recognition and/or advance our social standing. Can you imagine a world like that? I can. And it is truly beautiful.

Erie’s Anonymous Friend