Category Archives: Financial Struggles

Giving Gladly

Posted on by
3

Black Friday brought bright news throughout the land: shoppers bought more than expected, causing statistics to jump 22% from last year. Even better was the 39% increase in food purchases the day before Thanksgiving. Maybe times are a-changin’.

This weekend the girls and I initiated the Christmas season by watching “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Jim Carrey’s rubber face and crazy antics made the movie a hit, but little “Cindy Lou Who” did a pretty good job convincing Whoville that Christmas wasn’t just about pretty packages.

Of course local retailers hope it is all about packages. But when family money is tight, purchasing in all categories goes down, particularly extras like gifts. At the end of the season, numbers gurus will let us know whether or not we spent enough to make a positive difference in our country’s all-but-non-existent financial recovery.

During belt-tightening times, charities suffer severely, which includes churches. A recent Sunday morning worship service at my church included a challenging children’s sermon. As the kids came forward, they couldn’t help but notice the pastor was holding a giant container of animal crackers. When they got there, he gave one to each of them, telling them, “Don’t eat it. Go out into the congregation and give it to someone else.”

This assignment met with some reluctant givers, but eventually they all did as instructed, returning to the front afterwards. “Now,” the pastor said. “I’m going to give you each two more animal crackers. This time, give one away and then you can eat the other one.” It was smiles all around as they dashed into the congregation to share what they had.

Then the pastor made his point: “God blesses us for one reason: so we can bless someone else.” It was a powerful sermonette, and not just for the children.

Sometimes we adults struggle to give, not wanting to let go. But if we truly believe God knows our needs and loves us enough to follow through on providing, it should be painless to give away our surplus. And more than that, it should be fun.

When doubts crowd in, Scripture offers reassurance: “One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.” (Proverbs 11:24) God knows it can be hard, but he’s watching for people who aren’t just willing to give but who do it with eagerness and a smile. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

The pastor’s message must have sunk in deeply with our congregation, because at the end of the fiscal year, we had a significant surplus and had the delightful problem of wondering what to do with it all. But we didn’t have to wonder very long. Even the children could have told us: “Give it away!”

And that’s what we did.

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. And God is able to bless you abundantly.” (2 Corinthians 9:6,8a)

The Buffett Zone

Posted on by
6

Warren Buffett, the world’s richest person, has recently been in the news promoting a new approach to our country’s taxes, but there are a number of other things about him more interesting than that. His name, for example: Buffett.

I once heard an interview in which his grandchild said, “He doesn’t give us money unless it’s college tuition. He’s happy to pay for those expenses, but other than that doesn’t give us anything.”

And that’s where his interesting name comes in. The word “buffet” is a potent King James Bible word many of us cut our spiritual teeth on when we were kids. It means to strike against or push repeatedly. Mr. Buffett apparently recognizes that a little life-buffeting is a valuable thing.

Although I know nothing about the man’s spiritual point of view, his reasoning on the buffeting idea falls in line with Scripture. The biblical Paul mentions he’d been buffeted, listing it along with being hungry, thirsty, homeless and naked. His purpose was to warn new believers about what was ahead, urging them to persevere. He told them God would use the weak as strong voices for his saving message.

In another place Paul wrote about Satan buffeting him personally by way of physical pain. He again reminds readers God often displays great power through weak humans if they can rise above pain by taking advantage of God’s sufficient grace to endure.

All of us have been in the Buffet Zone now and again, bumping up against obstacles much like passengers in carnival bumper cars slam into one another. Warren Buffett has refused to use money to shield his grandchildren from the bumps and bruises of life, since those are the basis for a practical education in the “school of hard buffeting-knocks.”

The King James translation includes one more dramatic, instructional use of the word “buffet.” It’s used to describe the blows delivered to Jesus after his arrest: “They spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands.” (Matthew 26:67) And how did Jesus react?

He took it.

It was unfair… blasphemous… hurtful… evil. But he took it.

By responding to extreme, undeserved buffeting in this way, Jesus became our example. We’re to garner inner strength from the Father as he did, counting on him to meet out justice on our behalf. This goes against our natural instincts to lash back and get even. It also contradicts what we’re taught by the world. But becoming fully dependent on God for rescue leaves it up to him to control the buffeting and also the retribution.

This approach sounds risky, but counting on the sufficient grace of God always turns out to be a good risk.

“What glory is it, if, when you are buffeted for your faults, you shall take it patiently? But if, when you do well and suffer for it you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.” (1 Peter 2:20)

God’s promises… for who?

Posted on by
5

Yesterday’s blog was about a surprise gift from God that came when least expected, but that was only the beginning.

During those days I’d been crying out for some sense of God’s presence. Did he know how severe our situation was? Was he watching? Did he care? Would his promises apply to us?

I believed the verse that says, “receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16) but God didn’t seem to be following through on that. Talking to him without hearing back reminded me of talking on the phone with a child at my elbow who was also talking to me. Although she saw me standing quietly with the phone against my ear, seemingly available to her, I was really listening to someone else, irritated by her questions.

Was that God? Listening to others? Irritated by my talking to him?

Desperate to hear from him, I’d taken a long walk in the early morning darkness, begging out loud for his response. “You’ve just got to help us! Tell me something, show me something, do something to prove you’re still there!”

And then the box came.

As I dug through the layers of colorful little-girl clothes, I came to the bottom and found a white envelope with my name on it. Opening it, I was shocked when a pile of paper money fell to the floor, along with a hand-written note:

“Here is a gift for you made possible through the grace of God, who has given me an abundance over the past couple of months. God hopes that those He helps will share with those around them. I would like to share with you.”


I gasped at such unexpected generosity from my new friend Becky and was humbled by her gift. Stooping to gather up the bills, I counted out $341, an absolute fortune! She and I were just in the getting-acquainted stage of our friendship, though, and I felt  I couldn’t keep the money.

Calling to express my amazement and explain why I shouldn’t accept her lavish gift, I was stunned by her simple response: “How many times a day do we both tell our children to be nice and share? That’s all I’m doing.”

Becky convinced me to keep the money, and I was exceedingly grateful. A second gift that day was that God convinced me he was very close, hearing every prayer, aware of our needs (the clothes, the money) and even our wants (the flowered dress). These gifts, funneled through Becky’s willingness to be his instrument of ministry, persuaded me that his promises were true after all.

And they even applied to the Nymans.

“You … answer prayer; to you all people will come. You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth.” (Psalm 65:2,5)

 

Shiner Stories

Posted on by
9

In a family of 7 children, injuries abound, not from brawling but from childhood clumsiness and crashing into obstacles. A black eye is a common occurrence with kids, and ours never stopped running into things.

This photo of Louisa tells a shiner story of high impact with a coffee table, but that tale is insignificant compared to a second story told by the same picture.

It was 1991, and our family was in a financial free-fall. Every day brought more bad news, making it difficult to believe Jeremiah 29:11.

During those days, that verse was popping up frequently in sermons and had become the mantra of several Christian organizations: ”I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” I really wanted to believe God’s “hopeful future” applied to us Nymans, but it was becoming more and more difficult.

One day 3 year old Louisa, 1 year old Birgitta, and I were pushing our shopping cart through K-Mart when I spotted a display of little girl dresses. Louisa had a Sunday school program upcoming with nothing cute to wear, and I began sliding hangers on the store rack while simultaneously thinking, “Stop it. You can’t afford these.”

But it was too late. A darling dress was already in our cart, black with pink roses and a satin sash to match. Weezi began jumping up and down. “For me?”

“For you!” I said, picturing her on the church stage feeling special.

While in the check-out line, however, common sense took hold of me. “I guess we’re not buying this,” I told the girl, handing her the dress.

That afternoon, while the girls napped and I had a pity party, next-door-neighbor Becky called. “My sister sent me a box of girl clothes, and since I only have boys, I thought maybe you’d want them.”

“Sure,” I said, offering to run over, but before I could, she was on my porch struggling under the weight of a giant box. We set it down in my kitchen, and she headed home. When I opened it, I gasped. Lying on top was a black dress with pink roses and a pink, satin sash (see photo). It was nearly identical to the dress I’d left behind at K-Mart. This time I let the tears come, a joyful response to God’s unexpected surprise.

Sometimes he lets us run into life’s sharp edges so forcefully we end up with shiners. But then there are times when he carefully moves us past each obstacle toward spectacular surprises that take our breath away.

The trick is being willing to accept whatever he plans, whether it’s a painful shiner or a joyful surprise. Our part is to trust his timing and judgment, especially on our tough days. I’ll take a shiner any day, though, if I know a gasp-worthy surprise is coming, too.

And amazingly, the day I found Louisa’s pretty dress, a second gasp came right after the first…

(tomorrow’s blog)

“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits — who…crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things.” (Psalm 103:2,4,5)

 

The Rat Race

Posted on by
8

When Nate came out of law school in 1972, he was hired by the trust department of American National Bank in Chicago’s Loop. I was glad to be moving back to the Chicago area, and he was thankful to be starting his career in a big city.

I remember the day we bought his first briefcase, a plain black leather model with expandable pockets and niches for pens.  We waited while the shopkeeper embossed Nate’s initials near the handle, and from there we went and picked out a new suit.

After he began working, I loved walking from our second-floor apartment to meet him at the train each evening. Picking him out from a sea of suit-clad, briefcase-carrying commuters never failed to make my heart flutter. “Oh, there’s mine!”

He loved going to work and made friendships during those first years that were still current when he died 37 years later. But as the decades passed, Nate began to label his work routine a “rat race.” Career goals, once met, had been withdrawn, and his enthusiasm had waned.

Work was a means to an end, and he lived to come home. The luster had gone from boarding the commuter train and parading across the Loop with others running the same race. Yet he never wavered in his commitment to go. Even after the tumultuous collapse of his real estate company, he didn’t stay home even one day but rented a single-room office downtown, arranged for a phone, packed his briefcase and went to work.

When we moved to Michigan, his commute time doubled. But ever an advocate of riding trains, he daily boarded the South Shore Line for a journey from Michigan to the Loop. Amazingly, he didn’t mind, despite low energy and serious back pain. He took the 6:20 AM train to work the day we received his cancer diagnosis, and the next morning, against all logic, he climbed on the train again.

Jesus never experienced the pressure of a fast-paced commute with masses of people, but he definitely knew stress. His response was to decompress with the Father, separating himself from others and pulling close to his Sustainer. Amazingly, that same stress-reducer is available to us today with the identical benefit. Jesus successfully dealt with the burdens of his life by sharing them with God, and we can do the same. The invitation still stands. If we choose to go-it-alone, we step away from our most valuable resource.

Today I traced Nate’s commuter footsteps back into the rat race, riding the South Shore train to the Loop. Realizing the enormity of his commitment to continue commuting and working, I was emotionally moved while bumping along the rails.

What I did today took effort (finding the schedule, watching the clock, driving 19 miles to the station, waiting for a parking spot, hassling with the ticket machine), but he did this daily. I was making the journey for recreational reasons, but he did it to meet the demands of a pressure-cooker job.

My admiration for Nate’s willingness to run the rat race for his family knows no bounds. And it’s nice to know he has finally decompressed 100%.

“Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.” (Luke 6:12)