For People Who Remind Me of The Depth
She was in her late eighties, lived in a nursing home, and read every word of our church newsletter.
“You wrote about being a Cheerful Giver in that newsletter,” she told me.
“Sure did! And thank you for both reading and remembering,” I replied. “Not everybody does even one of those two things, haha!”
She didn’t laugh. She didn’t even smile.
“You left out the best part.”
“Excuse me?”
“You wrote about being a Cheerful Giver, but you didn’t say anything about that original Greek word Paul used.”
I handled this brilliantly: “Uhh….”
Flashed to the verse I’d used, 2nd Corinthians 9:7. It says, Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
She reached out an patted my arm.
“He said more than just ‘Cheerful.’ He said that our Lord loves ‘Hilarious Givers.’ You know, when we’re having so much fun and doing more than just smiling about it, but really enjoying it all. That kind of thing.”
She was right.
It’s amazing what all we can learn from one another when we listen.
Today I’m thankful for people who remind me of the depth of Scripture.
Especially well-seasoned saints.