Tithing and Thanksgiving

Tithing is a touchy subject among many people, especially Christians.  We all have are own ideas on what's appropriate and we tend to justify all too often why we can't give financially.  Some people think that the giving of their time is just as valuable as the giving of their money.  I have my own ideas on tithing but that's not why I am writing a post on it.  I also put the word "thanksgiving" in the title of this and I hope to convey the blessings Alex and I have received because of how we choose to tithe.

This first story many of my close family and friends have already heard and so I'll keep it short and simple.  After Cale was born we quickly inquired many, many medical expenses.  Fortunately my husband is a financial extraordinaire, therefore we had a good chunk of savings to help us pay those first bills that started coming in.  Eventually, however, our savings was no longer enough.  The bills kept coming faster than the paychecks and we were given our first major financial challenge:  we needed to write our tithe check to our church but needed that money to pay off a hospital bill.  Alex came to me and asked what we should do; do we write the tithe check and ignore the bill, or pay our bill and just forget about that month's tithe.  Without really thinking I quickly told him we needed to tithe.  Had I thought about it a little more my answer might have been different, but Alex took my opinion to heart and we went to church that Sunday and dropped our check into the offering plate.  Less than a week later, we received a "love gift" from our church for $1,000.  God is good!

My next story happened just last week.  Alex had gotten a bonus at work several months ago.  We decided to set a portion of it aside to tithe.  Alex held on to the money for months and just last Monday decided to finally give it away.  Meanwhile, we had decided to get Cale an iPad for his birthday.  They have amazing applications for kids and also for people who cannot speak.  Even though Alex has wanted one ever since the concept was even introduced, he decided to set aside his own selfish desires and let his son have one first. :)  Like I said, we wrote our tithe check on Monday and on that following Wednesday, someone from our church who had heard about our desire to get Cale an iPad donated one to us!!!  This person had one for their own personal use but saw that Cale had a greater need for it than they did and decided to generously give it to us.  Wow.  Both Alex and I cried when we heard what they were doing and we still can't get over the fact how thoughtful and selfless people can be.  Again, God is good!

I share these examples because with Thanksgiving only a day away, I have been thinking about what I am most thankful for.  My immediate answers are of course my family, my friends, my health, and the fact that we have a warm place to live and food in our refrigerator.  But when I reflect on what God is doing in my life and how I can be thankful for those things, I first thought of how God has blessed us when we choose to obey.  I sometimes get in a rut when all I can think about is the crappy stuff we have to deal with, but at the end of the day God has been there for us every second of every day, watching over us and providing for us around every corner.  He never takes his eyes off of us for even a split second.  He always has a plan and He always fulfills His promises.

Now that I have my own children and I am able to experience the love a parent has for them, I am always amazed that God loves me even more than I love my own kids.  It's impossible to comprehend and I even become a little defensive when I think too hard about it.  How on earth could anyone love me more than I love Cale and Riley?  I thought I loved them better than anyone!  I am so thankful that God loves me and cares enough to want to be involved in the smallest details of my life.  I hope that for everyone reading this that you are able to experience God's love this Thanksgiving!