Pressed down...shaken together...overflowing

I always enjoy Paul Harvey’s “The Rest of the Story.” I have my own rest of the story…
…When I was 17, my brother and father were killed suddenly in a household accident. After the funeral, my mother started assessing our finances and realized at the time that we only had fifty-two one dollar bills rolled up in a sock. Checking account was empty, no savings account. Fortunately my mother had a job and we had plenty of food in our pantry and freezer, so we weren’t going to starve.
I remember her telling me about the sock, and that she intended to give five of our fifty-two dollars to the church that Sunday as an act of faith. I thought she was crazy. You might think she was too…
…and now the rest of the story! Mom did as she promised and three days later, there was a knock at our door. Standing in the doorway was a man we had never seen before. He exchanged pleasantries with us and then got down to business. He had come to give us a check for $50,000. He stated that my father had a life insurance policy and it was his regretful pleasure to pay it off to us.
Why is this a big deal? Because mom could never find even one cancelled check made out to this insurance company to pay premiums on the policy.
Was this blind luck, mistaken identity, or just a fluke? You decide. But in my heart, I will always know where that money came from...
...I’m not writing this to say that giving to the church will create a financial windfall for you. However, God blesses those who give in faith in ways that we need most. When we put God first, He showers us with blessings … pressed down, shaken together and overflowing. (Luke 6:38) -JD