Giving Coins

For several months I have been putting my spare change into a piggy bank. For years, I have been trying to save some money for a trip to England. It has been a dream of mine since I was eight years old. The piggy bank was purchased several years ago and was decorated with the word "England" on it. A few months ago, I decided to get more serious about filling up that piggy bank. I announced to my family that when the piggy bank was filled up, I was going to England and they, of course, were going with me. I knew that even when the piggy bank was full, I would still need more monies to make the trip. Somehow I would find the money.

My children and I began putting different coins into the bank. It slowly began to fill up. When it was about two thirds full about one month ago, I began to visualize the plane trip, the hotel and all of the sites that we were going to see. I was definitely getting closer to fulfilling my longtime dream.

In the meantime, I decided to help out with the ministry, Water for Life Now , that my good friend, Ms. Tassel Daley had begun a few months ago. She has been giving out bottles of water to the homeless and saying prayers with them. Two weeks ago, I went with her and a group of people to hand out water , blankets, prayers and blessings. It was truly a remarkable experience. Our family also donated several blankets to the homeless.

Shortly after helping out Ms. Daley, I woke up in the early hours of the morning. I received a prompting to donate the contents of the piggy bank to the homeless. I knew that this prompting came from God, but what about my trip? I now believe that God was telling me that I could not go to England at this time. I knew I had to do this so about two days later, I began to shake out the contents of the piggy bank. After emptying the last coin into a plastic bag, I took the contents to the bank. The total of the coins amounted to $41.00. I delivered the dollars to Ms. Daley.

2 Corinthians 9:7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

She is already putting the money to good use. A wonderful man who was formerly depressed and frustrated from being homeless, has now risen up through her ministries, found a job, and is moving forward with his life. I have since learned that part of the monies donated is helping him with transportation. To think that a few coins could make a difference in someone's life. We are already putting more coins into that piggy bank to donate in the future.

I recognized my prompting through a Christian book recently read called Promptings found through www.appreciationgreetings.com . Blessings to all.

Jill Teske