Time is Tithe!

It's the age-old question when talking about how "giving is receiving:"  How can one have more if one initially has less?  

As a pastor I often delve into this mystery when talking about supporting Horizons financially, or learning to tithe 10% of what God gives us back to his work in the world.  It's a difficult concept to explain or grasp.  Often it ends up sounding more like a magic spell, fairy tale, or pyramid scheme--we'll be more blessed, better off, and have more resources when we live into the practice...

To open up the concept a little more at Horizons and acknowledge generous gifts other than money, we've also included time and talents.  Giving of those make a huge difference as well and reap a similar return.

But the best part of all these lessons is when they become real in our lives.  Sarah and I have seen fairly well how it works with a financial tithe, but just last Saturday (04/25), we came fuller circle on the mystery of time.

Sarah is now in the final days before her board exam for state licensing to practice physical therapy.  The test requires a rigorous routine of study and preparation months in advance.  In addition to Sarah putting several hours a day into studying, she has just finished her final clinical, which often kept her busy at least 10 hours of the day.  To say the least, she's poured a great deal of her time into just these two things.

Now that the test is so close and the clinical is finished, we're officially in what we call "locked-in" mode.  We've cancelled evening plans and opportunities, set other activities aside, and have made this our one focus.  It's the final stretch.

So, given this, I was amazed and confused Saturday morning when I woke up fairly early to head over to the church.  Our Property Team has been working against the weather to host a landscaping day. With no luck because of the rain so far, that morning we were determined to make it happen.  I wanted to help make it so.  What surprised me was when Sarah announced joyfully she'd come over with me and wanted to help.

What??  That's not part of the Locked-In protocol.  Quite frankly, it's against the rules!

Sarah insisted.  "I need to do this." she said.  So we went.  We spread mulch, trimmed trees, and even helped plant seeds in the mission garden.  While we were planning to stay until noon that day we finally, at 3 in the afternoon, with cakes of mud sucking onto our shoes, headed home--finally back to the Locked-In mode we had established.

While I may have been feeling a little anxious for Sarah's schedule and day, on the way home she reminded me of the truth I tirelessly try to help others understand.  Sometimes the only way to create good space for the things you need to do is to create space for the things we can do for others.  Sarah ended up getting a solid 4 hours in on Saturday, and we went to sleep at a healthy hour.  She assured me it wouldn't have gone so well had she just stayed and studied.  I believe her.  It's true that
we often have more when we have less.  Sarah made a solid investment in her time and ended up blessed for it. Time is tithe!


More to come!

Jason <><