One Sweet Offering
On Monday mornings, I open the safe to count the weekend offerings — a quiet, usually predictable task, full of familiar envelopes. Nothing too exciting — until recently, when I opened the safe there was envelope with a child’s handwriting, with the words “Church Offering”
My first thought was a parent allowed their child to help prepare the church offering and label the envelope. But when I opened it, I found a note: “22% of lemonade stand.”
I smiled! I was so touched to see that a child could be so generous.
When I told the staff about the sweet offering, Pastor Matt laughed and said, “I would have been going to the video game store.” Generosity like this doesn’t come naturally — it’s inspired. Learning to share is simply what you do with what you’ve been given. This child didn’t just donate; they practiced stewardship.
Somewhere in our church family, some child already gets it — that giving can feel good, not as an obligation but as something worth doing with their own two hands — and their own lemonade stand. May we all learn to give like that: cheerfully, thoughtfully, and without needing anyone to notice.
~ Shannan Wassel