I never thought I would be one of the ones who would tell a story about opening a piece of mail and finding a check at just the right time. I am bursting to tell the story -- the story of the tears pricking my eyes as I read the accompanying letter, of the letting go as I read on and those tears became a stream of joy bubbling up from a well within that I had feared had gone dry...but first I must back up a few days...
I have had 2 minor car accidents in the past week caused by cell phone use, and several other recent close calls which God used to wake me up. As a result, I imposed a strict no phone policy, and have promised my family that I will abide by it and pay a hefty fine to them if I don't. I even printed a sign for my dashboard to remind me - color printing & graphics to get the message across! These accidents have not only woken me up, but also have placed an addition strain on our finances, at just the worst time -- health insurance changes at John's work for 2011, another minor car accident for him on the very same day as one of mine (his wasn‘t caused by cell phone usage, but a deer), and lastly upcoming major surgery for our oldest son.
That is the background which made the following events even more impactful.
My husband came from a pastor’s family -- good German Lutherans whose stubbornness makes faith unshakeable and frugality second nature. Throughout his growing up years, the family took only camping vacations which were often cancelled because of a congregation member’s untimely death. In the family of four children, extra curricular activities were restricted because high school was a time to work to save for college. Shortly after he proposed to me, my future husband apologetically explained to me that with him, I would acquire his unpaid student loans. Having grown up privileged by comparison, that didn’t register with me at all. The frugality of his family life as a child was not just out of necessity, but also so that his parents could travel together after they retired. As it happened, his father died before retirement. His widowed mother did travel quite frequently, but now at 85, she has begun to disburse her savings regularly to each of her children. She receives so much joy in the giving, and because she is still with us, we avoid the inheritance tax. We never know when it will be our turn to receive, nor do we know the amount.
I was reaching for my cell phone as I was backing out of the driveway, and I ran over our mailbox. The following day, we received a letter from Grandma. When I saw the typewritten letter and the check, I knew I should read the letter before looking closely at the check. That’s the background...the prickling of tears, and the letting go as joy bubbled forth...
In the next several days, I thought a lot about my mother-in-law. We had received checks like this before, but somehow this was different. After we read the letter, we decided to share it with our children. What an impact it made! The letter talked about their plans to travel together, the travels that she enjoyed after his death, and about how no matter how bad things were financially, they never reduced their giving to their church. This is her legacy -- a legacy of being faithful, of accepting life as it comes, of holding loosely to the things of this world, of giving freely. As we passed around the check to each child, we saw their eyes widen. Our oldest wondered, “How did they do that in those days?“ As I shared their comments with the giver, she just couldn't keep from giggling!
In keeping with the spirit of the gift, we first discussed what we would do with the portion that we decided to give away. As each child made their suggestions, I took notes. Finally, each had an amount that they could give to the charity of their choice. They wrote their own checks, which I signed.
And I marveled at how yes, it had happened to me, to us.
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