WHOLLY FAMILY

Lessons learned: In all that we do each day, God is in the details

By Mary Moore | Nov. 19, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

My 6-year-old son does chores on a 1980s pay scale. Ergo, it takes him quite a while to earn enough money after his tithe to buy a $5 toy from the store.

So when he finally earned enough to pay for a toy he’d been eyeing for weeks, we made the trek to our local Target.

Rather than the money burning a hole in his pocket, he didn’t even glance at the other toys on his way to his goal. He knew what he wanted, he’d saved for it, and now the sweet satisfaction of obtaining his prize loomed.

As we moved up the line in the checkout, it was obvious to all those around us that this toy was the highlight of my son’s week. He couldn’t take his eyes off of it, and dared not place it on the conveyer belt. The man in front of us was so moved by my son’s happiness that he paid for the toy with his order.

“Oh no,” I objected graciously. “He’s been saving for this, and working really hard for it, so I really want him to pay for it.”

“Well now he can buy something else, too,” the man responded rather definitively, and winked at my son before walking off.

We were all a bit confused. Of course we admired the stranger’s kindness, but now we were at a total loss as to the lesson. I am sure my son must have wondered why he’d done all those chores, and why he didn’t just come and hang out at Target every day waiting for a benefactor. The wheels began turning in his mind immediately as to what to do with his five dollars. Run back to the toy aisle and grab another goodie? Give the money to mom out of guilt? Splurge on a round of Icees?

True generosity

As grace would have it, our morning homeschool lesson that day was on the generosity of God and giving Him, like the poor widow with her two coins, all that we have. As Mother Teresa once said, “Sacrifice, to be real, must cost, must hurt, must empty us of ourselves.”

Of course I was dying to drive this point home right there in Target, but it was my son’s money after all, and it was his choice — within reason — to do with it what he wanted. God’s grace intervened for me, and he asked if he could give his $5 to the poor. I obliged. And when we dropped that wad of his long-saved coins and bills into the St. Vincent de Paul basket, I could swear he seemed happier than he did in the Target checkout lane.

On the way home, he offered to let his siblings all play with his new toy — not a typical move following such a long-awaited acquisition. He then asked me if I had known what would happen at Target and if that’s why I chose the Gospel reading on the poor widow for our religion lesson that day. I assured him I did not, but that God did know, and He loves us enough to care about our understanding.

We all learned a few lessons that day. First, that God is never outdone in generosity. Second, that there are very kind people who can be found in unlikely places. And finally, that the Lord is involved in our day from start to finish in an effort to bring us closer to Him, and that no detail is too small for the One who counts every hair on our head.

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Mary Moore is a columnist for The Catholic Sun who lives in Mesa. Please send comments to letters@catholicsun.org.