Message from a Wise Sister

This is an email that was written by a Phi Mu sorority sister of mine. I won't post her name but I am proud that she is my sister.

I encountered a revelation today that I thought I might share with you about charitable giving. Overall, I am a very charitable person. But after the election results were in, my charitable heart was broken and I didn’t want to give ANYthing to ANYone. On Thursday, I realized that I had a charity fashion show that I would have to get through on the following Saturday (yesterday). My heart was in a little bit better place but not healed.

Today, as I entered the church foyer I passed the Samaritan Purse boxes (which we fill every year) and thought “maybe not this year”.
The sermon was “Extravagant Generosity” from I Kings 17:8-16. I yawned and felt depleted. Surely, this sermon would bore me today.

If you read the passage, you will see that a woman gave, not because she had anything to give, but because she had faith. I realized today that giving when you can is great giving, but giving when it hurts is faith. I can not let my faith be diminished or increased by one man’s election -- whether my choice won or lost.

Yes, the sermon today was directed at the annual giving campaign –which I am totally comfortable with because I know how much it cost to run a church. But this particular sermon spoke to me a much broader level. It spoke to my character and to my faith. It was the glue on my broken heart. In times of economic struggles and changes, AND heart breaks, we are still sooooo blessed by God’s mercy. How can we have anything less than extravagant generosity?!