My plentiful basket

There is a basket that God gave me; it is beautiful to look at.
So beautiful it almost hurts; I do not see my basket in this way.
However, everyone who looks upon it sees it in this light.
I see my basket as tattered and torn, but strong and useful.
My basket is filled with a plethora of wonders and amazing things.
I let people know exactly what and how much is in my basket at all times.
I let them know not to be a braggart but because my basket is wide open for all to see.
People seem to like what is in my basket and are in need of the variety of items it holds.
The items in my basket seem to be in constant demand; someone always is in need of one my wonderful gifts.
I am giving because that is what God would want me to do and I like to give from my basket.
Giving is not an obligation to me it makes me feel happy and right in the world.
It has been in my nature to do this since I was born; it comes natural to me.
Every person I meet wants or needs an item from my little basket I cannot tell you why.
Then one day came and I needed something from my basket desperately.
It was as if it was a matter of life or death to have this item.
To my dismay, I looked down at my basket and it was empty.
I was hysterical and asked every one of whom I had given an item to, if they could put something back in the basket not for good, just until I could fill it again.
To my utter disbelief, all of these people of which I considered friends or family;
 one said, “I would not have enough for myself if I give that to you”.
Another person said, “I will not have that until next month or I lost that last week”.
This person said, “I will call you back in a bit”. In addition, they never called. 
Others were outright nasty about the fact that I had the audacity to ask them for one of their items.
I finally gave up asking for I could not take the rejection besides the empty feeling.
I have now realized that God has given me many gifts or assets and there are certain people that want what I have.
I thought that God would want me to give as it says in the bible; when I give all these assets away, there is no one to refill them.
However, with another kind of people they will gladly refill your basket as you would theirs.
I have found that with certain types of people our assets turn into liabilities because there are two types of people in this world givers and takers.
If we give to takers, they will take and never give back for one. In addition, they will continually keep taking as long as you let them.
If we give to givers well it is self-explanatory, they will give back and gladly. 
My basket is my soul, my character, my being, myself, and it is something that is priceless and rare.
What they have taken from me is irreplaceable by their kind. Moreover, I do not think I would want what they have.
I have everything I need and God has always made sure of that, if I give to the wrong type of people, I have given away things I cannot replace and my spirit starts to die.
When my spirit starts to die it is only a matter of time before the body will follow. 
It is a heart-wrenching awakening when you realize these facts; I have taken almost fifty years to learn this lesson.
It states in the bible not to throw our pearls at swine; I am guessing this is part of that lesson.
I have still not mastered the art of saying “No!” but I am realizing that it is a matter of life and death.
I am learning to give in other ways so I protect the gifts God has given me with my life, literally.
This is something I just found in my basket; I thought I might share it with you.