"Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy." Matt. 5:7
Several years ago there was a popular movie entitled, Pay It Forward. It was a good movie but not a new concept. "Paying it forward" is a biblical principle. It is given to us in scriptures like the one above and in many others. The bible says in Proverbs 28:27, "Whoever gives to the poor will not want,...", and "Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." Luke 6:38. Then there's the instruction in Ecclesiastes to, "Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days." Eccl. 11:1
Of course this takes faith. If you have one piece of bread in your hand, it takes faith to believe that if you throw it in the water you'll get it back. Or if you have something that is valuable to you, it takes faith to give part of it away, believing that you'll get more back. Yet that is what we are asked to do. We're asked to give it up and believe that God will give it or something more valuable back to us.
When Ted and I first got out of the Air Force and came to Grand Rapids, Michigan to finish college and seminary, we had an experience that illustrated this principle in our lives and stamped it on our hearts. The kids and I left Altus, Oklahoma ahead of him, with our dogs and cat, and headed for Grand Rapids to find a home and get Ted registered in college. He wasn't due to retire until September, so we thought we'd better get set up before then. The trip north with a car full of kids and animals was an adventure and a story for another day.
We were new to the north. At least the kids and I were and although Ted had been raised in northern Ohio (the Toledo area), he had been away from there for 21 years. So, it didn't occur to any of us that we'd need a totally different wardrobe from what we'd always worn in the south and Spain.
Winter came early to Michigan in 1975. By September there was already snow on the ground. One alert Seminary wife approached me and invited me to come to the "Seminary Wives Clothing Basement" and "shop". These women provided a wonderful service to incoming Seminarians and their families. We went that very night and found the basement crowded with just about everything we were looking for. There we found boots, scarfs, mittens and other items we needed for a Michigan winter. It all had been donated by thoughtful people. I remember thinking Wonder why these people didn't just have a huge garage sale? I knew that most of them were as poor as we were and here they were giving all this good stuff away.
There, we were completely outfitted. I found a nice wool coat for myself, coats, hats, mittens and scarfs for the kids and boots for all. Ted was able to find a heavy jacket and a few sweaters. We were so grateful and felt well prepared for the winter.
A couple of weeks after school started Ted was visiting our friends, the Moshers, during his break between classes. They were preparing to go to England as missionaries and to raise support, Bill was speaking all over Michigan (and a few other states), in a different church every weekend. On this Wednesday night he was preparing to go to a church and speak. Ted noticed that he was wearing only a light suit coat and it was below 0 outside.
"Bill, don't you have a warm coat?" asked Ted.
"No, that's one of the items on our prayer list this week." replied Bill.
"Do you know what the temperature is out there?" Ted asked.
"No, do you?"
"Yes, it's about 6 below!"
Bill shrugged, "Well my car is warm and I'll run from the car straight into the church then back again... I'll be okay."
"What if your car breaks down?" persisted Ted.
Bill looked a little exasperated when he answered, "Just pray for me, okay?"
"Okay." said Ted.
He left their house to go back to school but as he got into his car a thought began nagging him. I'm going two miles to the school and then another two miles home. I'm not leaving Grand Rapids. He needs this coat more than I do. Then he said out loud, "Surely Lord, You don't want me to give him my new coat! I don't have another one!" He began to back out of the driveway but the sick, sinking feeling in his stomach continued. So he pulled the car back into the drive, got out and ran back into the house. He took off his coat and threw it on the couch. Bill looked up in surprise as Ted started for the door.
"You take the coat and you can pray for me...okay?" said Ted just before he shut the door.*
He went straight from there to the college chapel service where he took a seat in the back row just as the speaker was finishing. As he wrapped up the sermon he asked for "prayer requests" from the students. Ted stood and said, "I'd like to request prayer that the Lord would provide me with a winter jacket." From there he hurried on to his next class, hugging his sweater close in the bitter cold. After his last class for the day, he ran to his car and jumped in. Lying on the passenger's seat was a heavy winter jacket with a note pinned to it that said:
"Dear Bother,
My brother gave me this jacket before I left for school this morning because he had bought a new one. He said, "See if you can find someone at school who needs a jacket this size." I was so happy when you requested prayer in chapel today. I tried to catch you before you left for your next class, but you were at the back of the room and I was up front, so I couldn't get to you in time. Hope it fits."
Your Christian Sister, Deb
Ted put the jacket on over his sweater and it fit like it was custom made for him. He came home bubbling over with the story. Later that week he said to me, "You know, I don't want to seem ungrateful for the jacket. It's really warm, but I'm going to start pulpit supply soon and I need a dressy overcoat. Keep an eye out at the Clothing Basement for one... something nice so I'll look like a preacher and not a homeless person when I go to strange churches."
I did go several times to the basement but no one was turning in overcoats or any other kind of coat in this weather. As a matter of fact they were hauling them out of there as fast as the lady got them onto hangers. So we just forgot about it. We decided that we should just keep thanking the Lord for the warm jacket and not be greedy, when there were others who didn't even have that much.
Ted started supplying pulpits all around the state by October. The weather was terrible and some Sunday mornings he left the house wearing two pairs of pants with his suit and the jacket on top of his suit coat.. We worried that he'd break down in his old pickup truck and freeze to death before someone found him. (We didn't have cell phones.)
By the end of November the snow was up to our window sills. There was a snow drift out our back door that was higher than our five year old daughter's head... and it just kept snowing!
Ted's brother and his family from Ohio were coming up for Thanksgiving. Two days before they left to come to our house, Ernie called and asked, "Laura, can Ted use clothes?"
I said, "Well, I think so, but your clothes won't fit Ted."
"No, I don't mean mine. A friend, where I work, died a couple weeks ago and his wife called us and asked if we knew anyone who could use his clothes. We thought of Ted because he's about the same size as my friend."
"Sure! Bring them on up. What he can't wear, we'll send back or donate to the Clothing Basement." I replied.
Ted put the jacket on over his sweater and it fit like it was custom made for him. He came home bubbling over with the story. Later that week he said to me, "You know, I don't want to seem ungrateful for the jacket. It's really warm, but I'm going to start pulpit supply soon and I need a dressy overcoat. Keep an eye out at the Clothing Basement for one... something nice so I'll look like a preacher and not a homeless person when I go to strange churches."
I did go several times to the basement but no one was turning in overcoats or any other kind of coat in this weather. As a matter of fact they were hauling them out of there as fast as the lady got them onto hangers. So we just forgot about it. We decided that we should just keep thanking the Lord for the warm jacket and not be greedy, when there were others who didn't even have that much.
Ted started supplying pulpits all around the state by October. The weather was terrible and some Sunday mornings he left the house wearing two pairs of pants with his suit and the jacket on top of his suit coat.. We worried that he'd break down in his old pickup truck and freeze to death before someone found him. (We didn't have cell phones.)
By the end of November the snow was up to our window sills. There was a snow drift out our back door that was higher than our five year old daughter's head... and it just kept snowing!
Ted's brother and his family from Ohio were coming up for Thanksgiving. Two days before they left to come to our house, Ernie called and asked, "Laura, can Ted use clothes?"
I said, "Well, I think so, but your clothes won't fit Ted."
"No, I don't mean mine. A friend, where I work, died a couple weeks ago and his wife called us and asked if we knew anyone who could use his clothes. We thought of Ted because he's about the same size as my friend."
"Sure! Bring them on up. What he can't wear, we'll send back or donate to the Clothing Basement." I replied.
They arrived on Thanksgiving morning and came into our living room carrying two big boxes. Draped across Ernie's box, because it wouldn't fit inside, was a beautiful wool, overcoat. I don't remember any of the other items except that they were all good clothes that fit Ted well.
Later that night as we went to bed we were talking about God's provision of all of our needs. Ted said, "Know what I read in Proverbs today? When we give to the poor, we lend to the Lord."
"Really? Wonder if we have anything else around here that the poor might need?" I asked.
*Later that year when we got in trouble with our heating bill, Bill Mosher gave us the money to pay it. I've often wondered who paid him back.
Later that night as we went to bed we were talking about God's provision of all of our needs. Ted said, "Know what I read in Proverbs today? When we give to the poor, we lend to the Lord."
"Really? Wonder if we have anything else around here that the poor might need?" I asked.
*Later that year when we got in trouble with our heating bill, Bill Mosher gave us the money to pay it. I've often wondered who paid him back.
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