Generous Mamas
My Mama Sue was a generous cook. She usually had a chess pie sitting in the kitchen when I came to visit her. My very favorite of Mama Sue’s chess pies were the ones when she used lemon juice instead of vinegar. I can see one of those pies now, sitting on her pink countertop in its aluminum pie pan (because she usually used frozen pie crusts) and covered with Saran™ Wrap. Oh, yum. They were good. And she just might have peanut butter cornflake candy, too. Another yum.
But Mama Sue didn’t stop there. At meal time, she started pulling things out of the refrigerator and adding more and more to the pink and white dinette table, oftentimes in pink ironstone bowls. Do you see a pink pattern here?
Christmas is a wonderful time to think about generosity. When God sent His Son to earth it was the most generous gift of all history. However, generosity is for all seasons. Again, God is our ultimate example. When He sent Jesus, He was continuing the pattern of generosity that He had been revealing since Creation.
Psalm 136 repeats the following words in each of its 26 verses:
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
My resident concordance-dictionary-encyclopedia husband says that the word faithfulness here means overflowing mercy and grace and lovingkindness. God is not a stingy Giver. He overflows with generosity. He wants us to be generous, too.
In Deuteronomy 15:7-18, God gave the Israelites laws about how to treat servants and the poor. He told them:
. . . you shall fully open your hand to him . . .
. . . generously lend him enough for his need in whatever he lacks.
Be careful that there is no mean-spirited thought in your heart.
You shall generously give to him . . .
Your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him . . .
. . . you shall give to him as the Lord your God has blessed you . . .
How precious for children to remember their mamas as generous—generous to their children and to others, generous with love and time and attention and praise and grace.
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
Psalm 136:1
This is so beautiful, and I’m so grateful to know what the definition is to the word “faithfulness” in Psalm 136. Praise His Holy name! My heart did a pitter patter at all of the pink…pink is my favorite color! 🙂 I really loved this…I’m inspired by this to think more on generosity and to pursue being a generous wife and mom. THANK YOU!