Mommies Magazine

The Cheerful Giver

Posted on 17. May, 2008 by Beckie Stewart in Family

It was another typical Sunday morning for Miss Debbie as she came to teach her toddler class at church. She had an established routine, and the children knew what to expect each week and so did Miss Debbie. However, in dealing with this age group, a child will occasionally do something out of the ordinary, and a valuable lesson is instilled in the lives touched by that occurrence.

“Does anyone have money to share today,” Miss Debbie asked her little ones.

?”I do,” a few answered.

“No,” several others responded with a pout, my daughter being one of them.

Wanting her students to learn the concept of tithing, Miss Debbie reached into her purse. She handed a few coins to the children who had forgotten. She then proceeded to collect the money and found the children cheerfully willing to surrender the pennies, dimes and nickels that she had just given to them. Miss Debbie was pleased to see how quickly they had learned the lesson on giving.

The following week, Miss Debbie once again asked her young students if they had money to offer. Like the week before, she found that some had money and others didn’t. Before Miss Debbie knew what was happening, my two-year-old daughter, Lana, had sprung to her feet. She grabbed Miss Debbie’s purse, pulled out her checkbook, and brought it to her.

Taken back by Lana’s actions, she said, “Lana, please put that back in my purse.” Lana instantly complied with the request and placed it back into the purse.

However, determined to share money, Lana continued to dig into Miss Debbie’s purse. Unaware of what she was doing, Miss Debbie suddenly heard jingling behind her. She turned and found Lana holding her change purse and handing out coins. Miss Debbie realized the lesson on being a cheerful giver was being taught to her today. She allowed Lana to give the remaining coins to her little friends. Later, Miss Debbie wrote a check and placed it into the offering plate with a smile.