She'd go to church each Sunday
morning,
And afterwards, she'd grocery
shop
The requirements of both
events
Determined how much cash she
brought.
The church was neither rich nor
needy,
But was entitled to
support,
The pastor's words were
most uplifting,
Thus she must not sell the
good man short.
A Ten dollar bill? Yes ...
quite enough,
A good deal more than
others,
And it would not clink, like coins
do,
In the plate and make her
shudder.
Then she checked out her
cupboards,
And found them nearly
bare,
That called for
major shopping,
So many things not
there.
She made herself a grocery
list,
Which grew to several
pages,
The poor
soul was out of everything,
Which was really quite
outrageous.
So she grabbed a Hundred
dollar bill,
Which she had put
away,
For just such type
occasions,
As grocery shopping
days.
Now with her Ten and
Hundred,
Tucked snugly in her
purse,
She felt very well
prepared,
For shopping and for
church.
The sermon was
inspiring,
The hymns stirred her to the
depths,
And brimming with
emotion,
The woman sang
and wept.
When the collection plate was
passed,
Still in tears, she sought her
Ten,
Oh Oh ... you're way ahead of
me,
That's right ... she dropped her
Hundred in.
Her error not
discovered,
Till she reached the grocery
store,
Thank God she had her credit
cards,
(Yep, that's what they are
for.)
For in her purse, all by
itself,
Sat a lone Ten dollar
bill,
The Hundred dollar bill now
gone,
Resting neatly in the church's
till.
If you think she was
surprised,
Imagine how the pastor
felt,
Some parishioner, he
thought,
Must be loaded down with
guilt.
Such a large amount for
anyone
To drop into the church's
plate,
But if it eased a guilty
conscience
The pastor guessed that would be
great.
The Lord works in mysterious
ways,
The preacher took the bill and
smiled,
A homeless family on the
streets
Would find that cash
worthwhile.
When the lady later told her
tale,
About the money and its
path,
At first folk sympathized with
her,
But shortly they began to
laugh
Her friends and family teased
her,
About the communion wine she
drank,
Re its potency
and quantity,
And had she drained the church's
tank?
They ribbed her about how much she
paid
For a reservation up
above,
"But dontcha' know," they further
teased,
"Cash can't buy the good Lord's
love?"
They taunted her about the
credit,
She'd now built up at church,
perhaps,
Now, she could attend for
"free,"
And let the plate go right on
past.
She denied their
accusations,
Though she was flustered and
red-faced,
Of course, she knew her way to
heaven,
Was strictly through God's
grace.
But good naturedly she took their
gibes,
And basically had no
regrets,
The cash had gone to a
worthy cause,
So how could she be
upset?
When she reached into her purse
that day,
God took her hand, I
think,
And guided it to the
proper bill,
And then ... I think ... God
winked!
Virginia (Ginny)
Ellis
Copyright June
2006 ~ 2008
Based on a TRUE story!
Thank you, Phyllis Post!
God thanks you!
Your Pastor thanks you!
The homeless family thanks you!
The author of this poem thanks you!
And the members of your exercise class thank you
for all the great laughs we had at your expense!
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