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The Offering

We attended a small rural church a mile from our house, so I and my little brother walked to Bible School in the summer. We had Bible School every summer, about a month after regular school was out. It was a fun time and all the neighborhood kids attended too, even the kids who didn't exactly belong to our church but everyone was welcome.

There was an offering each morning after the opening prayer and singing. Ma gave me a dime or sometimes a quarter for offering each day. The offering plate was coming around to me and I thought about how I wanted to keep the money. I knew it was not nice to keep it but no one would know and Ma wouldn't find out. So I just passed the plate on to the next kid and did the same thing for the whole week.

Saturday was the day our family got all the weeks work caught up and got our nicest clothes all ironed and ready to go to town. I always shined my Pa's shoes and made sure there wasn't a speck of dust on his Stetson hat. (Pa always wore a hat, no matter where he went). We all, Ma, Pa, Lyle and me got into the car and headed to town.

Ma would buy the weeks supply of groceries and Pa either got a hair cut or just visited with his friends at the barber shop. We always went to the Dime Store (Ben Franklin) for a few minutes so Ma could get a new spool of crochet thread or some other little necessity. I discovered a doll there that had the cutest face, since Susie. Her face was all scrunched up like she was crying. She smelled so good. So new. She was wrapped in a blue blanket with a white ribbon tied around it. I never touched a thing when we went to town but I just couldn't resist the touch of the doll. I picked her up and wanted her so much. I knew I couldn't have her but boy I sure could wish. The tag on her read $2.98. Boy how much money was in the match box at home? I wondered.

When we got home I checked the box I had been putting all the saved offering money in and hid it in my room. Let's see..............There was $1.85. If I could just get Ma to give me a little extra and If Pa paid me something for shineing his shoes. Just maybe I could get enough to buy the doll.

I encouraged Ma to give me some extra offering money by telling her "the other kids gave two quarters sometimes." She just smiled and gave me some extra pennies. Boy how was I going to get the money, I needed? I fed the chickens, helped clean the barn and took lunch to Pa and kept the offering money. Saturday came and I had $3.89 cents. Boy Oh Boy. I could hardly wait to get to town.

We went to town the same as always only this time I knew I was going to buy something. I made sure I put the money in a handkerchief so I wouldn't forget it or lose it. When we got to the dime store, I went right to the shelf where the doll was and sure enough there she was. I picked her up and walked to the counter to pay for her Ma followed and as I put the money on the counter, she got a funny look on her face. I knew I was in trouble. I put the doll back. We got into the car and Ma and Pa both were mad at me. Ma had already told Pa about the money. She always had some sort of knack for telling him stuff, with her eyes. Pa said "Where'd the money come from?" I knew better than lie so I told them how I'd kept the offering money. I felt so terrible, not about the doll any more about not giving the money for the offering. Ma told me how it was to help the work of the Lord and to cheat the Lord was so wrong. When Sunday came all the money I had earned for the doll and all the money I'd kept for myself went into the offering plate. I know everyone thought I was being generous but really I was so relieved to get rid of the money. I didn't even want to look at it anymore. It made me feel sick to think I'd done such an awful thing.

Saturday came and as usual we went to town and got groceries as usual then went to the dime store. Well the doll was still there but somehow I didn't like to look at her. It made me feel guilty about what I'd done. We got into the car to go home and Pa turned around and said "Do you still want that doll?" I told him yes, and he handed me four dollars. I went in and paid for the doll and on the way home all I could think was how glad I was that I'd gotten the doll with permission and the money was back where it belonged and not to take or keep something that didn't belong to me.

This is the little church, as it still stands across the road from where I live today.