Lessons in Stewardship
By Beth Ann Ayala, Stewardship Team Member
As a young girl growing up in the mountains of Colorado, I learned about stewardship and how it means leaning on God’s promises. Not giving lip service to those promises, but actually putting them to work in your life; counting on them.
My family attended a small church in the little ranching town where we lived. No one in the community had a lot of money and most everyone lived day to day. There was a gentleman in our church, John Peeples, who truly believed in Stewardship. I remember when I was twelve years old, Mr. Peeples stood up in church one day and made the following declaration. He challenged every family in the church to give back to God a portion of the resources God gave them. Then he promised, “If any family here practices stewardship and at the end of the month has trouble paying their bills, I will make up the difference for them.”
Years later, when I was visiting home from college, I remembered that moment. I asked Mr. Peeples if any one took him up on his offer. He said, “I’ve made that offer many times, and no one has come back to me needing help. I knew they wouldn’t because God promised to provide.” (Luke 12:23-25)
It’s true. God has provided through every job loss, educational endeavor, and major medical crisis life has brought my family. Through all of them, we have been able to lean on God’s promises and feel liberated to give a portion back to Him.