Abundance on a Brown Paper Bag
A few weeks ago, I was taking my dog Scout for an evening walk. In the distance, on the park’s pathway, I saw a piece of trash. Surprised? Of course not. It’s a part of life for those of us who live in urban areas.
I’m generally the sort that says, “Ewww. Germs. I can’t get my delicate princess hands dirty. Who knows what dastardly disease might infect me? Yuck, yuck, yuck.”
Then again, I have a spouse, Tom, and one of my best friends, Edna, who regularly stoop over to clean up whatever mess someone leaves (those people who drop trash are a whole different subject. A pox I tell you!).
You could say that I’ve been shamed (inspired?) into picking up trash. It’s true. I don’t do it often but on occasion my better angels say, “Hey, Cesie, make this place look better. Do your part.”
So, back to the trash on the pathway. It looked like a beat up, brown paper lunch bag. Who knows what sloppy food might have been in it? I could hear Tom and Edna whispering in my ear, “You know what you should do.”
I picked it up and, when I turned it over, there was a handwritten message:
You are Loved!
Now maybe this was a bag prepared by a mom or dad who had packed their kid a lunch. Maybe it was a packed snack from a spouse who wanted to surprise their husband or wife. I like to think that this was a gift from the Holy Spirit to me. It was a reminder that God loves even me.
Maybe that’s too woo-woo for some of you. But the Lord works in mysterious ways. You can’t tell me otherwise.
It’s an excellent way to think about generosity too. God has given us this amazing gift of loving us (You are Loved!). In a world that can have us feeling beaten down, God bursts through with the generous gift of love.
What do we do with that gift of generosity? Do we live in scarcity – holding on to love, holding on to our resources because “there will never be enough”?
Of course not.
Because we are loved, God’s abundance flows in and through us. Generosity is a by-product of accepting that love.
We live as a people who believe that:
No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a washtub or shoves it under the bed. No, you set it up on a lamp stand so those who enter the room can see their way. We’re not keeping secrets; we’re telling them. We’re not hiding things; we’re bringing everything out into the open. So be careful that you don’t become misers of what you hear. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes. (Luke 8:16-18, The Message)
“Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes.” Can I get an “Amen”?
Let’s get that generous message out into the world, a world that so desperately needs to hear this Good News…even if it’s on a beat-up brown paper lunch bag.
You are Loved!
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Cesie Delve Scheuermann (pronounced “CC Delv Sherman,” yes, really) is a Stewardship Consultant for the OR-ID Annual Conference. She is also a Senior Ministry Strategist with Horizons Stewardship – helping with capital campaigns and encouraging more generosity. For 25 years, while working as a volunteer and part-time consultant, she has helped raise over three million dollars for numerous churches and non-profit organizations.
You can reach Cesie at inspiringgenerosity@gmail.com, at CesieScheuermann.com, or at cesieds@horizons.net. Want to schedule a meeting? She’s got you covered! Did you know you can make a vest out of a brown paper bag? Neither did she. What a way to reduce, reuse, recycle.
Schedule a meeting now.
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