I feel like a lot of the stories I share on this blog are from my childhood, but that’s where I learned so many of the lessons that I now understand as an adult. (My parents were all about teaching lessons as you can imagine!) One is about abundance. And I learned it from looking in the collection plate at church.
As a child, my family didn’t have a ton of money. We lived in a modest little house & didn’t eat name brand cereal. My clothes were sometimes handmade & there were definitely times I paid for my lunch in dimes & quarters. hahaha As my mom always says to me: “You had everything you needed and most of what you wanted,” which is a fantastic way to put it. I never felt like I was lacking anything. Looking back, I wish we would have had more money purely for the fact that I wish my parents hadn’t had to work so hard or worry so much. But I’m really glad that’s the way I grew up. I learned a lot more life skills that way– with creative parents that actually built things with their hands. Everything from sewing Halloween costumes to building a treehouse from scratch. My parents really didn’t let on that we didn’t have money, so my sister & I weren’t really aware of it I don’t think.
Once I had overheard my parents discussing on how they were going to pay the bills that week. We were down to low double digits in our bank account & it was a situation where my mom would just laugh to keep from crying. After I overheard them talking about it I asked why they didn’t just write a check! Such a simple solution, right? That’s when I learned you have to have money in the bank for checks to work. haha
That Sunday sitting in church, they passed the collection plate down our pew. I watched my dad pull a few bills from his wallet & drop them in. Since we were already struggling to pay the bills, why would they give that money to the church? The math didn’t add up. After church I asked why they put money in the offering plate if we didn’t have a lot to give & my mom said: “We put some money in the offering every Sunday. When we obey God, He’ll provide what we need– the money will come from somewhere somehow.”
In Deuteronomy 28:1-2 says:
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.”
We can gather His abundance if we obey Him! It’s as simple as that. Sometimes we don’t want to hear what He has to say. I know I certainly don’t. Sometimes God tells me things & I’m like “yeahhhhh… thanks God, but I’d rather not.” But He is our constant provision & our portion. Every good & perfect thing we require to live flows from Him. So it seems counterproductive to put money you have in a collection plate if you are struggling financially, but it shows a faith commitment to the Lord & He will return it in blessings 10 fold. When I think of all my blessings flowing from Him, I’m always reminded of one of my favorite parts of our church services:
“Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!
Praise Him, all creatures here below!
Praise Him above ye Heavenly Host!
Praise Father, Son, & Holy Ghost.”
-The Doxology
<3 Elaine
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Oh my gosh, Elaine! You were so right on with this post, message, scripture, song, etc. No matter what our situation, we can trust He will ALWAYS provide! AMEN to that!! Love this!!?
God is so good all the time!
Gorgeous work and precious sharing!
What a sweet memory of your parents’ obedience <3 I remember as a young adult I wasn't so good with money and was often unsure of how I was going to afford gas to get to work. But I was tithing and every time my account balance neared $0 I would get a call for a babysitting job just in time! I love remembering how He provided for me back then :) Beautiful page as always!
Exactly! Faith defies all logic, but always comes through!
Thank-you Elaine.