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Forty-plus years ago, I was living in Wichita, Kansas, working for an oil company as a young petroleum engineer. It was the height of the 80s oil boom. I had a new BMW, a new townhouse, and a new girlfriend. I was living a life of abundance, or so I thought!
It so happened that my childhood pastor from Tulsa, Rev. Bob, moved to Wichita soon after I did to serve as the interim minister of a local Presbyterian church. My girlfriend, Cindy, and I began attending this church at Bob’s invitation/insistence. We soon joined the church, and in June 1984, Bob officiated our wedding.
Before we knew it, it was October, which in Kansas means it is fall harvest season, and in the Presbyterian Church, it means it is stewardship season, essentially the same thing. Bob called and asked if Cindy and I could make a stewardship visit to an older couple in the church. We phoned the couple to see if we could stop by and visit on Sunday afternoon. They said that would be fine and gave us directions to what they called the little “cattywampus house,” located in a rural area on the edge of town. We weren’t sure what a “cattywampus house” was, but we knew it when we saw it. It was a modest but well-kept farmhouse that sat diagonally at the intersection of two dirt roads. Our BMW looked oddly out of place in their gravel driveway. I was just hoping that it didn’t get too dusty.
Inside, we were warmly welcomed by the most gracious couple. They must have been in their late 60s and married for over forty years, compared to Cindy and me, who were in our mid-20s and married for four months. We discussed marriage, children, faith, and the church. They shared how being faithful and regular in worship has shaped their life and marriage, and how the practice of intentionally pledging to the church is an integral part of their spiritual growth. They spoke of learning to rely on God’s provision. They shared how God’s grace has blessed them more than they could have envisioned and how giving back in gratitude for that grace brought them joy. A life of abundance was not apparent from the outside of this house, but once inside, it was clear they had lived an abundant life, a life we hoped for, and a life that they hoped for us.
They cheerfully accepted the pledge materials. I remember leaving their house thinking, That was easier than I thought it would be. Cindy and I really need to fill out our pledge card, too. What was not obvious to me at the time, but became clear later, was that we had not been sent to that cattywampus house to persuade an older couple to give to the church. That visit was meant for us. Apparently, Bob, much like the Lord, liked to work in mysterious ways.
Cindy and I moved to Tulsa the following January, where we joined First Church Tulsa. That was forty years ago. We are now in our sixties and have made regular worship and the intentional act of pledging a core part of our life together. It is something that we do with gratitude and joy for the abundant life the Lord has offered us, and for the couple in that little cattywampus house who showed us what an abundant life in the Lord could look like. We eventually traded the BMW for a minivan. The minivan, much like the Lord, proved to be more reliable.
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