I stood in my kitchen riffling through a small accordion file where we kept money for our monthly budget. It was the end of the month, so the file was mostly empty. My sister was coming over soon, and I was scrambling to find some cash to give her. I checked my wallet. the jar where we stash dollars to save for vacation. My bottom desk drawer. All the places I might have hidden a few extra bucks.
My search was semi-successful. I thumbed through the wad of cash. Somehow I had found a hundred dollars. Strangely, though, they were all five-dollar bills. Suddenly, 20 five-dollar bills felt like both too much and painfully not enough. I wasn’t sure what to do.
My sister was going through a hard time — a really hard time. Life had imploded, and the gap between what she had and what she needed seemed impossible to bridge. I wanted to support her, to let her know that she wasn’t alone. In some ways, a hundred dollars felt embarrassingly inadequate, as I knew it would hardly make a dent in her needs. On the other hand, I felt a little guilty that I had the resources to scrounge up that sum of money and the sacrifice didn’t hurt too much.
I stared at the stack of five-dollar bills. I didn’t want to make my sister feel insulted or ashamed by my gift. I just wanted her to know that she was seen and that I would walk through the fire with her. “Lord, help me to know what to do,” I prayed.
I felt a stirring in my spirit. Ihe whisper of God that said, I know your heart and will honor it. Give joyfully — exactly what you have.
Later that afternoon, while cousins played together in the backyard and my sister and I cleaned up from lunch, I handed her a white envelope with my gift. She stuck it in her purse without opening it.
That night my phone binged with a new text: “Sister, I couldn’t believe it when I opened your envelope. This morning at church I put my last five dollars in the offering plate. I knew God was asking me to trust Him, but it was hard. Your generous gift was God reminding me that He sees me and will be faithful to provide for me.”
With tears in my eyes and a smile spread across my face, I stood once again in my kitchen, just shaking my head. Only God. His kindness to use and bless exactly what we have is abundant.
-By Becky Keife as published in Courageous Kindness
Have you ever looked at the world’s limitless problems in comparison with your limited resources and wondered if it’s even possible for one person to make a meaningful difference? Or maybe you think about today’s culture and feel disheartened by all the critical voices and division. Maybe kindness seems like a long-lost virtue without enough power to impact a single life let alone change the world.
Through the pages of Scripture and stories from women just like you, the Courageous Kindness Bible Study will show you how God’s kindness is an unrelenting pursuit of human hearts and an invitation to partner with Him.
God is absolutely wild about people — including you! His kindness is the catalyst for our salvation; His work in our lives is like a love letter inviting others to repentance and relationship. God goes to unimaginable lengths to wow and woo and call His children to Himself. Does this mean life is easy, peachy, and pain-free? We all know the answer to that is a resounding no. Yet when we learn to live with eyes wide open to the evidence of God’s kindness, it will not only change our view and understanding of God but will transform the way we see and relate to others.
Courageous Kindness by Becky Keife, with stories from other (in)courage writers, is on sale now at DaySpring.com for only $10! Plus, you can find more (in)courage Bible studies for $10 here through the end of Septmember!
God wants to use your ordinary days to accomplish more than you could ever expect.
Becky,
Thank you for encouraging us all to be more kind. I love the five dollar story.
Sending you autumn joy,
Lisa
Thank you, Lisa. I’m forever in awe of God’s kindness toward us.
God sure does have a great sense of humor and amazing timing!!! I’ve been receiving emails from Incourage like crazy this week… And it was the title “Which voice is the loudest in your life? ” That alone spoke VOLUMES to me. Thank you, Becky. For being there when I needed to hear Him.
I loved the five dollar story. My take away was that the brother was the one saving her and sharing his love of family. If money was that tight I would make sure my kids had food and the last five dollars I would make sure there was gas in the car to get to work or look for work. God also loves you when you serve and maybe that was a possibility until she could get on her feet. I know tithing is important and believing and giving yourself over to god is great but sometimes you have to act to also make your life better personally and financially. It’s great to have family support but that can also last only so long until you’re putting a strain on family. God loves unconditionally this may be the time to pause and think about becoming financially uplifted or looking at ways to see what is a need or a want. . It is great to have a loving family that is there for you..