Tuesday, August 26, 2014

The Offering/MANN



 
It was a new church; everything shone with a cared-for appearance. Spotless rugs led to every door. The alter-covers showed intricate needlework on carefully chosen colours and fabric. I felt at home.
When visiting a church, I’m used to putting my offering in an envelope provided in the church pew. I picked the only one available and noticed my six-year-old granddaughter had playfully drawn pictures and printed her name.
Shades of playing the board game Life the previous day, explained her boldly written request “I want $100.00.” Rather than having the elders think I was expecting a reverse offering, I rubbed the request off the envelope. Thinking the sunflowers she’d created from a yellow crayon she’d found in a basket at the end of the pew, as well as the daisies she’d carefully drawn in a row was a playful touch, I removed only her name and address off the face of the envelope. After all, I didn’t want the church treasurer to send me a receipt for my pair of toonies.
To complete my preparation, I placed the envelope on the plate as it was passed by me. Unbeknown to me, my granddaughter spotted her envelope with the carefully drawn row of daisies and sunflowers smiling back at her as it rode along in the offering plate. Much to the panic of her father, she lifted her hand and attempted to rescue her envelope, before he gently touched it. 
Showing confusion as to why the envelope had suddenly gone into the hands of adults unknown to her, she put on a pout and began to sulk while sliding down in her seat. During the children' story, she refused to go forward and continued to play with her fingers and look down at her feet. I realized my mistake and hoped that an apology, hug and a visit to the Dairy Queen after church would ease her pain. 
I reached into the back of my seat, retrieved two new blank envelopes, and offered them to her. But to no avail, this act of admission of guilt on my part was not received well. She continued to withdraw, in fact twisted out of the seat to stand in the aisle as if to make a quick exit if an appropriate time should materialize. 
Acknowledging that she hadn't understood the use of the envelopes, I went over, knelt beside her in the aisle of the church, and said, "Thank you for preparing the envelope. Grandma put some money in it and gave it for God to bless. It was such a nice present with your pretty flowers. I'm sorry if I gave away something you liked. For you to give that which you wanted for yourself makes it very special. That's a true offering. Was it alright to give it?"
She nodded and tried to smile. She returned to the pew, prepared another envelope identical to the first and went on her way to Sunday school. An active act of forgiveness within a service of redemption proved holy ground.

Blessing, 
Donna
http://www.donnamann.org  

 
                                   

6 comments:

Kathleen Gibson said...

Oh, Donna...you made me chuckle this morning. I understand this completely -- I also have a six-year old grandchild who I often sit with in church, and those envelopes are simply too tempting to resist for those little ones. I'm sure your understanding heart will be a lasting memory for your artistic granddaughter. Thank you.

Unknown said...

Donna and Kathleen, you grandmas have a wonderful way of working these tricky incidents through to a good conclusion.
And I'm also sure this will be a lasting memory for the young lady. It would've likely served as a teachable moment for her. ~~+~~

Glynis said...

Sometimes we have our drawstrings pulled a little too tight, don't we? Yes it was definitely a teachable moment and what a lovely way that you turned this around for your granddaughter so she became a willing giver of 'more gifts.' Shows the importance of disciplining in/with love. What a beautiful example of 'becoming like a child'. And a great example of what happens when we respond with appreciation. We want to give and do more. Lovely.

northernpoet said...

Lovely!

Donna Mann said...

Thanks for your comments, folks. It's a special memory for me and I just had to put it down on paper. Blessings.

Ed Hird+ said...

Sweet memories, Donna. Giving and receiving are vital parts of our lives. :)

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