tithing with a twist

Receiving delightful surprises in the mail is one of those “endangered delights” – like good face-to-face conversations. But who doesn’t love receiving from the good ol’ postal service a gift from across the country or a handwritten note from a long-lost friend?

But here’s the postal surprise to beat all: Money from a stranger.

Five years ago I received this letter with a check for $47. I was no longer working as a professional artist and rarely updated my website, but this stranger named Karen had apparently found it. I was surprised to hear not only that the material I posted was helpful, but that it also had inspired someone to write me a letter and enclose a check.

I can tell you that I have never forgotten Karen, and in fact, I’ve had this card on my office wall ever since she sent it. Her words and gesture touched me.

What if you created a practice of choosing one person per month to acknowledge for inspiring you? What if you sent them a check?

What if tithing in this very personal way became part of your budget? What if you wrote a lovely note, enclosed a $50 bill and handed it to the young man who bags your groceries or the beautiful white-haired woman at the park who always greets you with a smile?

Do you regularly read a blog or use a website as a source of connection and motivation? Why not send them a note and a twenty dollar bill? You’ll never know just how much that person needed to be noticed, yet you will feel good knowing that you took ten minutes from your busyness to acknowledge them.

Will you take the challenge? Here’s a simple way to plan for surprise tithing:

1. Ask yourself, “Who has filled me with spiritual, creative or emotional nourishment?” Make a list.
2. Write out the twelve months of the year. Place each name next to a month. If you have only one name, that person’s name goes down next to each month. If you have less than 12, divide according to your whim or sense.
3. Transfer the action step – “Tithe to Georgia” – in your scheduler for the coming year.

Once a month for a year, take a moment to let someone know they have touched you. Be that stranger of surprise.

Photo Credit: Luna Jaffe