They say that confession is good for the soul. Some admissions of guilt are much more serious than others, but there are also the ones that are more embarrassing or whimsical than they are sinful. Yes, I have them just the same as you do!
Here in north-central Ohio, we just never know what coat might be the most used over any season. It depends, as do so many other things, on the weather. Most of my coats are machine wash and dry because I am just a little bit like Pigpen from the “Peanuts” cartoon. Because I am as messy as life can be, somewhere through the winter, my coats are laundered in the convenience of my home. My faithful and old dress wool coat, which has sadly mostly become known as my “funeral” coat in this profession, must be dry-cleaned. I do that at the beginning of the season so it is fresh for wear. (I live in an area where dry-cleaning any item requires it being sent elsewhere on a certain day of the week for it to be returned on that day 2 weeks later. Imagine what that feels like with a 100% wool coat that cannot be replaced at any cost, or a $400.00 clergy robe!) So my confession? Every coat I have ends up in the closet unlaundered until the next cold entry when the dip in the snow belt ends up engulfing us again.
But there is a fun side effect to my “outer wear procrastination”. In the washing, or the first wearing, at the beginning of a season, I find wonderful things in my pockets; often amazing things, and sometimes even sad things like the little funeral leaflets of a friend or neighbor picked up at the last one or two funerals where I was either clergy, or just attended. (Both happen more frequently the older we get.) This year, along with some of those leaflets, there was a packet of flowers, Forget-Me-Not seeds, to plant as a reminder of my friend and to remind me too of the new life she has gained in the resurrection. I also find a full stock of store receipts crammed into those pockets, many for things I could have probably lived without but chose not to.
Used napkins, mint or gum wrappers, pocket lint, and yes, even unused tissues carried “just in case”, line those pockets, but there is something even more special that I find in my pockets-full of memories. Always there is some loose change and, more often than not, paper money! A five, a ten, or even a twenty-dollar bill might be folded up in there from when I had gone on an excursion and didn’t want to carry my purse. Most often it really is just several ones all folded there and left for the summer season, but the finding of cash money, “found money,” holds a joy like nothing else.
I have a dear friend, Sandie, who loves found money! She walks and bikes every day. It is not for her physical health as much as it is to provide total spiritual and emotional balance in her life. On her many journeys, instead of letting those pennies just lie there and corrode, she becomes excited with every penny and nickel she is able to retrieve at every opportunity. And those “pennies from heaven” become so much more when they are in her hands. You see, she is the most generous person I have ever been blessed to know and I have known many radically generous people. Every chance she gets, she takes those pennies and multiplies them 10, or 50, or a thousand-fold, just as Jesus asked us to, and gives it to others. Sometimes it is to friends, but mostly to strangers. Sandie reaches out to do extraordinarily interesting things to help others. Sometimes she watches to see who might benefit from her “anonymous” generosity, but most often she just trusts that God has a need for her to help someone that she will never meet.
My friendship with Sandie (and her belief that you cannot out-give God) has taught me more about generosity than I ever thought possible. She believes in tithing 10% of her gross, not her net income. and she makes the world a better place for her friends and for so many others who will never even know who she is. Radical generosity is something that comes from giving in the spirit of which is was meant without much judgement about whether the recipient is worthy. And it is not just a winter thing, or a holiday thing. Generosity is needed, and can be spread around, all year long. Sometimes what I might spend on just one fancy and fattening cup of coffee could make a life giving, or spirit boosting, difference for someone in need.
Every year, when I clean out my pockets, I enjoy these memories! I look at the receipts and file or toss them away. I re-read the memorial flyers and feel blessed to have been a part of a life lived and celebrated. But the money that I find always gets multiplied by some quantity and donated. Usually to a church, but sometimes to someone else in need. Sometimes, I add to it and buy a coat or two to donate to a coat drive. Or I give to our senior citizens, pet shelters, children’s drive, or gift cards from the dollar store for homeless folks who need a little of everything. Need is, unfortunately, a never-ending thirst that needs quenching.
This year (If you are an outer-wear procrastinator like me) I invite you to look through your pockets. It might not only be your coat pockets that you search😉. Find your joys and memories. Keep those safe and remember them fondly. Toss away the unnecessary paper and lint that clutter things up; preventing us from being fresh and open to the new. And take any of that “found money” and multiply and donate it to the church or a special cause. And if you can, add a dollar or two more to your regular church tithing for next year. You cannot out-give God and you will never suffer for being the generous giver that you want to be. Remember the trust of the poor Widow who gave all that she had, trusting that God will care for your needs. Let the spirit of generosity fill you all year long. Pastor Christine Burns
Mount Gilead First Presbyterian 