I saw this chronology on Instagram the other day and my response was somewhere between a laugh, a cry, and a tantrum. 2020 has been a confused tangle of days and months. Sometimes I look back at what seems like the distant past and realize it was just a few weeks ago (or, you know, breakfast). Other times, I can hardly comprehend all that has happened in such a short time.
This morning, the latter happened. I was engaged in some of the more glamorous aspects of my job -- reviewing data, updating spreadsheets, etc -- when suddenly I had to stop, lean back in my chair, and pray a quiet word of thanks, right there in the middle of all my finance spreadsheets.
I was suddenly floored by your consistent, faithful generosity throughout 2020. All of us have endured enormous upheaval, and all of us face an uncertain future. But your response to this uncertainty has not been to fear scarcity, hoard your resources, or cling to security.
Instead, your response has been to give generously.
By the end of this fiscal year, we will have given away over $37,000 to COVID relief, Beirut relief, Abara Frontiers (our Holy Week offering recipient), and our global and local outreach partners. I'll be profiling those partners in the next few weeks, and I'm so excited for you to meet them and pray for them. I'm hopeful about how those partnerships can grow and deepen in the coming year, how we might creatively and faithfully serve the most vulnerable together.
I'm looking forward to all of these good things. But for a moment, let's not look forward. Let's just take a moment to pause, look back, and give thanks. You've been consistently generous in an inconsistent time, and I'm so grateful.
p.s. You've also given lots more than money, of course! But Jesus said, "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" -- and I'm thankful for a church whose treasure reveals a heart for those in need.
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