|
A Step Closer to Tithing by Anonymous Author I recently decided to hire a housekeeper to clean my home once a week. There is a part of me that can't settle into this new luxury. My mother never had a housekeeper. In fact, I have vivid childhood memories of her scrubbing the linoleum on her hands and knees - because "mops don't get everything up". It could have been her meticulous control over cleaning methods that kept my Mom from hiring help when she got busy with school, work and her four children; but I'm more certain that it was the scarcity of funds that kept her from even considering it. I was seven in 1982 when PATCO went to bat against the government. My parents were air traffic controllers for the FAA. They earned their skills in the Navy, and once they were fired, with no college degree to fall back on, their financial situation spiraled. I remember moving from our 4 bedroom home into a two bedroom rental. Then from the two bedroom into my grandmother's little house, where my aunt and cousin also lived. Then to our relatives in New York - then back to Chicago - all within 4 years. It took a long time for my family to recover. I went to 5 different grade schools. I saw food pantries and food stamps. I saw my mother agonize over debt. I saw my Dad jump at opportunities for better employment, even if it meant uprooting us again. He eventually settled in construction, after years of being on a wait list to return to work as a controller. I understood, at a young age, the desperation, anger, and depression that comes from financial hardship. My mother clawed her way to a masters degree while raising my siblings and me. She is only now earning enough to be able to put some money away for retirement. My father manages a small construction team and makes a little extra as an umpire in the summer and a basketball ref in the winter. Their combined income does not equal that of my husband's alone. My husband comes from a much more stable and financially sound background than I. Though we struggled at first to make ends meet, his work ethic and talents led us to a good place. But our views on money, saving, and giving differ greatly. As the primary provider, he never feels he is earning enough. While I feel, if we can afford to hire a housekeeper to come once a week, we are living pretty comfortably. I compare what I have now to what I knew as a child. I am very very grateful for the life we are able to give our children. We have choices my parents never had. So after hearing the testimonies this pledging season, listening to Hartshorn's sermons on giving, and knowing the many worthy causes in which St. Augustine's takes part, I made a choice to double my pledge. I did this without consulting my husband, who does not believe in organized religion and is less ready to hand over a chunk of his income to a church he does not attend. My decision to pledge more spurred a long and difficult - but productive - conversation with my husband about money. He still has his reservations about tithing, but it was helpful to be able to point out that this church is a community committed to responsibility. St. Augustine's has a long list of good deeds, and our tithe is a part of supporting those good deeds. He was very receptive to the idea that I give because I'm grateful. It brings me joy. I have so much in a world where so many go without. Giving more is one way I can bridge that gap. Mostly, I'm glad to give more because I know that I can, and being able to recognize it was an important step for me and my family. I'm on my way to being a tither. It's a very rewarding feeling. Copyright © 2007 St. Augustine by-the-Sea
|
