My husband and I moved many times over the years.
Each time we found a church, it seemed the new one
started a major fund drive as soon as we arrived.
It happened so often that we joked about it, but then
we began to notice something happening to ourselves
as well.
Starting with the amount of our pledge to our former
church, we found ourselves raising the income percentage
as we saw the needs of our new parish. Our surprise
was that, as we gave a larger portion of our income,
we still had as much money as we needed ?? even with
more children, new houses to buy, and so on. When
we reached ten percent, which had once seemed huge,
it took very little from our lifestyle. Mysterious.
Finally we realized the truth of common sayings: "Give
until it feels good" and "Everything belongs
to God." Somehow the adjustments to our lifestyle
that were required from time to time didn't make much
difference in our enjoyment of life. Neither did it
affect the love of family and friends.
Like countless others, we learned that nothing, after
all, is really ours. It's God's all along, and he
is simply letting us use what we need while we are
on earth. In the end, as saints and sages have known
through the ages, it??s not acquiring that gives us
happiness, it’s sharing.
