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Dewey,  The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron

Dewey’s story starts in the worst possible way. Only a few weeks old, on the coldest night of the year, he was stuffed into the returned book slot at the Spencer Public Library. He was found the next morning by library director, Vicki Myron, a single mother who had survived the loss of her family farm, a breast cancer scare, and an alcoholic husband. Dewey won her heart, and the hearts of the staff, by pulling himself up and hobbling on frostbitten feet to nudge each of them in a gesture of thanks and love. For the next nineteen years, he never stopped charming the people of Spencer with his enthusiasm, warmth, humility, (for a cat) and, above all, his sixth sense about who needed him most.  Synopsis from Barnes and Noble

An excerpt from the book:

“Everyone at the library was well-intentioned, but over the years the staff had become splintered and cliquish.  …Here, finally, was something (Dewey, the cat) that we could share.  …once Dewey arrived the tension began to lift.”

This brings to mind another book, The Necklace by Cheryl Jarvis.  The powerful ingredient in the necklace experiment was the sharing.  The women shared this luxury piece of jewelry with each other, their children, and  complete strangers.  They became a group of friends that were committed to each other, largely through the process of sharing.

There is power in sharing, in community.  I’m still batting the idea around.

Why does sharing have such an impact on the one who is sharing?

How does this play out in the church family?  Is sharing and community-building part of hospitality?

Have you ever had an experience with sharing that had an unexpected effect?

What are your thoughts?