Passing on the gifts we receive...

by Wendy E. Copson-Higgins

Recently I have been learning more about stewardship. It is not something I expected to need instruction on, or ever thought that I would be speaking about! Yet, here I am!

First of all, what is this thing called stewardship? What are these talks, statements, seminars...? At first I thought it meant learning how to better come up with the money needed each Sunday for proper tithing, good causes and to balance the budget each month. Whatever it was, it seemed we needed more of it.

Then, educating Wendy began at the informal “Stewardship College” here at Church of Our Father. I began to see the many facets of stewardship. I also began to see God’s gifts as fluid, coming into our hands to bless us, then passing on to bless others… Not only that, I am noticing the incredible joy and hope there is in realizing we have so much to give and that so much of God’s work is achievable! A paradigm shift is occurring as we speak. Stewardship is a state of mind!

Inspired, I began to ask myself: What makes us change? What incites us to such a level of action that we find ourselves really changing our lives? How do we get from wishing things were different to actually: losing weight, joining a support group, taking that dream vacation, reaching out to that certain someone, building something from nothing, or making God’s mission come true? What is the catalyst that makes us go from dream to reality? And, especially, how has an act of stewardship played a part?

On my long drive Downeast, I have time to ponder these things, and a memory came to mind. I believe it is one of those faces of stewardship. It changed how I thought about giving. I was a naïve nineteen-year old, just off the boat. I had recently left Puerto Rico, where I had lived on boats since I was three months old. I was in Connecticut with my mother when my Aunt Jeanne, who lived in Northfield, Maine, called and invited me to come and live with her, Uncle Don, and my 11 cousins. At first I resisted because I had big dreams of being a journalist and going to a famous university. My aunt said I could start out at the little college on the hill and then go on from there. Having no money, support or a concrete plan, I agreed. During the following two years, Aunt Jeanne fed me, sheltered me, counseled me, gave me rides, and generally cared for me while struggling to cope with her own teenagers, a crumbling marriage, a full-time job and a big stone house heated with coal. Feeling thankful and indebted, I offered to pay her many times. She always refused. I kept offering. Finally, she looked at me one day and said, “Wendy, pass it on to someone else someday...”

A Consecrating Stewards Program booklet, by Earl Miller, talks about keeping our hands open and points out many verses from scripture that speak of giving. One I like is from Deuteronomy 8:17-18: “Wealth comes not by our own power and labor. God enables us to get our wealth, not for the sake of getting and keeping, but to keep us in covenant with God, where we are God’s people caring for all of God’s people in need.”

Sometimes there is fear in giving. In the middle of giving, I sometimes hear a little voice (maybe it’s the little red guy with the pitchfork) saying, “Gee, what if you get taken advantage of? Are you sure you shouldn’t get something in return here?”

My mother and I were once in Boston with a few hours’ wait for the next Greyhound bus. My mother was attending Bible College and I think she was filled with the Holy Spirit. That might explain why, as we walked along a nearby street, she invited a very shabby African American man, who was begging, to join us for lunch. I nearly had a heart attack! As we entered Burger King, all eyes turned toward us. I whispered to Mom, “I am afraid.” She said, “We are protected.” As we sat with this man, I could hear people making comments. I was so afraid something would happen that I convinced Mom to leave. The man seemed not to notice us as he poured more salt on his burger. Today I wish I had had the courage to stay put.

As we receive God’s gifts and pass them on, we don’t know what changes they will precipitate. In quiet moments, I believe we will hear God’s assurance that we have done the right thing. He gave us His Son. His Son then passed forward his gifts through the disciples. And their efforts produced a living gospel that is a gift to us even to this day.

In his book, See You At The Top, Zig Ziglar tells about a young girl known as “Little Annie”, who was put in a cell for the hopelessly insane at a mental institution outside of Boston. The doctors had determined there was no hope for her. A nurse working there felt there was hope for all of God’s creatures. She began to take her lunch to eat outside Little Annie’s cage, wanting to communicate love and hope. Little Annie showed no sign of being aware of her. One day the nurse left brownies outside the cage; when she returned, they were gone. The doctors soon noticed a change… Little Annie was later moved from her cell. Eventually she was ready to go home. Instead she decided to stay and help other patients.

Years later, Queen Victoria was pinning an award on Helen Keller. “How, despite being blind and deaf, have you accomplished so much?” she asked. Without hesitation, Helen Keller gave the credit to Anne Sullivan, once known as Little Annie. Helen Keller influenced millions of people after her own life was changed by “Little Annie,” whose life, in turn, had been changed by the nurse.

On my way to becoming a better steward, I ask myself: How can I take better care of God’s Earth, God’s children, God’s church, God’s people? How do I offer up anything I received as a gift or a talent? Where am I being called to serve? What mission is calling us to action? And, wow, how do I say thank you enough?!”