The Beauty of Tithing

Normally my heart has no struggle with tithing. I find it joyful writing that check. It is almost as if I am getting to partner with God to further the work of His kingdom.  Although, I’m sure it is probably more like the times my sweet 6 year old Sarah brings me the pennies she has saved up to “help me with the bills”. I wonder if Heavenly Father’s heart swells with as much love as mine does when my daughter sincerely gives me her life savings?

For some unknown reason this week I struggled with writing my tithe check. I had over $1000.00 in OVERDUE bills, with the threat of a shut off notice on my heat. If I wrote my tithe check, I would have enough for the heating bill to stay on, but would only be left with $12.00 in my account to cover things like toilet paper and gasoline, plus all the other bills would go without any further payment.

I made the decision it wasn’t my money to begin with and I made a covenant to always pay my tithe. So, I wrote the check and a peaceful feeling came over me. The next day, I received three paychecks, two of which were overdue to come to me. It left me enough to pay something on each one of those overdue bills. Plus, I have enough to get one tank of gas and one small present each for the children on Valentines Day. Isn’t Heavenly Father kind? It was a reminder to me that He is aware and uses our circumstances to help us grow. Though tithing had never been an issue until that particular day, my faith has grown on the doctrine of tithing.

I also wanted to share a cute story that has nothing whatsoever to do with the topic. My Sarah is very literal and has been brought to tears many times because she doesn’t feel like she can hear the Spirit. The problem is she thinks it is a literal HEAR. Though the Spirit does occasionally work that, way, it is not the most common method.

She and I have been spending a lot of time discussing the fruit of the Spirit and the peaceful happy feelings that come to us when He speaks to our hearts. We had one of those discussions last night. It took about 40 minutes before she would calm down and stop crying long enough to really grasp what I was saying. About 10 minutes after our conversation, she was in the bathroom cleaning the toilet (one of her chores), when she ran up to me excitedly saying, “Mom! I feel the Spirit when I clean toilets! I always feel happy cleaning the toilets.”

Because I didn’t want to discourage her with any clarification. I just told her to remember that good feeling. I really love her enthusiasm.