My Offering….

 

As the offering plate neared our pew, she became more and more nervous – my seven-year-old searching for her coin-purse.  I found it as the plate passed to the row behind us, and we fumbled with the zipper.  I asked her, “How much do you want?” and she said, “all of it”.  The coins tumbled out of their case, and she ran to the back of the church to find the offering plate. 

In the background, a young woman plays the piano keys beautifully, and artfully sings the words to that famed hymn, “I surrender all”.  I watch my seven-year-old, walking confidently through the back doors in search of the office where the offering is kept to place all of her coins into the plate, and tears well up.  It isn’t about the money, since she really doesn’t know that her quarter, dime and nickel isn’t worth much, but it was about the joy in giving it all away, surrendering it all to the Jesus she loves, that struck me so deeply. 

She walks back into the church beaming, and settles down next to me in the pew. 

And I wonder why. Why do we count out the coins of burden and responsibility in our lives, weighing which ones to give Him, and which ones to carry in our pocket?  Why is so hard sometimes to just dig deep, and expose all of our trials and burdens and offer it to Him so that we can just rest in His grace? 

The woman on the piano plays the final keys and I’m all smiles.  This daily surrendering of all to Him is tonic for this hard world.  I swallow deeply, again and again His blessed grace.  For me.