By Michell Porisch
As I have reflected on the message from Sunday these memories came floating into my quiet time.
These moments were real and still remind me that all we have is from our God, and it is about attitude not the amount. Our oldest daughter Sarah was about 7-8 years old. It was Pledge Sunday at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Orange California. We were all presented with a challenge to give and it involved filling out a card and an amount. The offering plate was passed and we put in our cards. The next Sunday, to our surprise, Sarah’s card was part of the sermon. Unknown to us, she had pledged 1,000 pennies and signed her name. That still fills my heart with gratitude that our child heard the message and responded in this way! But in remembering that event today I am reminded how much our Father is pleased with our attitude in giving! It is about the attitude not the amount!
I am 1/4 Scottish. You could say I’m Scotch! And by that I mean I have always been tight-fisted with my money, like Dora demonstrated at the 11 a.m. service this last Sunday. Even as a child I never wanted to spend “my” money. In the late 70s Byron and I were living in Palm Springs California. He served as a D.C.E. there for 3 years. I wasn’t working at the time and Byron’s salary at the time was just enough…not really… we got our first credit card and that is a whole other story!
We had just experienced a Marriage Encounter weekend and we were attending a week night get together with fellow couples who had also gone to Marriage Encounter. This night it was our turn to bring a snack. We had no cash, no resources and it was a source of a squabble as we were driving to our friends’ home. I was embarrassed that we would be coming empty handed and Byron said it would be fine! As we turned a corner, suddenly I saw money swirling around our windshield and in the road!
-suddenly I saw money swirling around our windshield and in the road!
We were both surprised and I shouted to Byron to pull over which he did. He quickly got out of the car and started scooping up the cash but also looking to see if there was a wallet or any other people around who might of dropped or lost the money. No one else seemed to notice and when he got back in the car all we could do was laugh and thank God for his care and His timing and His goodness! All we have is a gift! In receiving with open hands we can give joyfully! I honestly can’t remember how much cash there was but we certainly had enough to buy some cookies to take to our friends house and a memory that lasts a lifetime!
