The Tithe

There is an older lady who comes to our church very regularly.  She is probably around 75 years old and extremely poor. I'm pretty sure she wears the same green sweatshirt, light blue pants, topped off with a navy blue billed stocking cap every time I see her.  Shirley and I have become good friends over the past few months.  Recently, she mentioned that her and her husband both have terminal cancer.

She might be an angel; I can't be for certain.  Don't get me wrong, she's not the easiest person to get along with, nor the prettiest, but I think it is completely possible that God sends angels to us especially in personalities and appearances that are not to our liking.  As a matter of fact, somedays I feel like I am completely surrounded by angels.

This particular lady, Shirley, for the past two Sundays has shaken my hand at church in an extremely sneaky way.  Both times now, after we shake hands I have noticed something is left in my hand that was not there before.  On both occasions there is a tightly folded one dollar bill, followed with her words, "put this where it is needed."
I'm overwhelmed.
I could give a few hundred dollars of tithe, but until I give to the brink of my very existence I don't think it would come close to Shirley's dollar.

We're all very familiar with the story in the gospels about the widow who gave a penny.  After seeing her drop her coin(s) in Jesus says something incredibly irrational.  He says that she gave more than everyone else that day.  If you do the math, that is clearly a lie.
But sometimes the truths of the Kingdom look like lies to us.

Look for someone in need around you today!  Seek to help them if you can, but more importantly learn from them.