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Monday, 02 July 2012

Change For A Twenty

By Herchel Newman aka Herm

The singing had been wonderful - not only in music and fine voices, but in the message the lyrics conveyed. Now it was time for the preacher to offer the sermon.

Our pastor introduced the guest speaker. He had been with us in times past so the congregation was anxious to hear him again. He gave us a new perspective on Noah and the flood, the raven and the dove, the olive branch and the tree.

At the conclusion of the service, the people had been so blessed, our pastor said he was moved to ask for a special offering. He simply said, "I would like for three-hundred people to come place ten dollars on the altar.

The people responded right away. Our pastor doesn't do this sort of thing so I felt to be one of the ones. I looked in my wallet, but only had a $20 bill. One of the ministers we affectionately call Dr. Todd was sitting on the same pew as I. I leaned over and asked him what I should do.

I should now tell you the story within this story. Several months earlier he was in my studio having some pictures taken. His daughter was with him. While he was changing clothes I told his daughter a story. The end of my story to her was:

And so I took all the money out of my wallet without counting it and gave it to the lady in the parking lot.

Just as I said that, he came into the room and said, "Brother Herchel, I wanted to give you a tip for today's shoot but I didn't know what would be proper. The Lord spoke to my heart and said I should give you all the money in my wallet. I don't know how much it is, but here."

I laughed with amazement and appreciation. I applauded heaven and thanked him.

Back to this story. I said to him, "I was asking myself, 'What would Dr. Todd do?' I think he would give it all, so I guess I will too."

A smile formed on his face and he said, "You can put the twenty down and pick ten up because you're trustworthy." Or did he say, 'You can put the twenty down because God is trustworthy.' I wasn't comfortable putting twenty down and picking ten up, so decided to trust God to make the change.

Often times, I give people pictures I've taken at church that I think they will want and like: children in a play, a baptism, a lead soloist or something like that. Sometimes I'll even get a tip of a dollar or two.

I helped load my mother into my sister's car after church, stowed her walker and got her buckled in. As we chatted before they left, I began telling them about my $20 bill dilemma. As it was time to go, I reached into my pocket for my car keys. I felt a dollar bill a gentleman had just given me as a tip for a pic I'd given him two weeks prior.

When I unravelled it, (as you may have guessed) it wasn't a dollar, but a $10 bill. I showed it to them and told them I didn't know I had ten dollars in my pocket when I began the story.

It was their turn to be amazed. God is trustworthy and He makes change in our lives.

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[INVITATION: All elders, 50 and older, are welcome to submit stories for this blog. They can be fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir, etc. Please read instructions for submitting.]

Posted by Ronni Bennett at 05:30 AM | Permalink | Email this post