The Can

     "Let's do it", I said with a crazed look in my eyes.  Thanksgiving was just around the corner and my wife and I had just decided to go spend the holiday with some of my family just south of Nashville. This wasn't the crazy part though.  We then decided that on the most crowded shopping day of the year, which just happens to be the day AFTER Thanksgiving, we would venture to the Opry Mills Mall with our four small girls. If we were still alive we would then go see the Christmas lights at Opryland Hotel.  "It will be fun", I muttered to myself.  I figured if I kept preparing for the absolute worst experience of my life then anything would be an improvement.

     Thanksgiving Day was great although we grew a bit weary of answering the same question over and over again. "Now why on earth would you want to go shopping at that mall on the busiest day of the year"?  That question rang in my ears all night, but the following day found us working our way through loads of traffic, followed by several laps around the parking lot waiting for that person walking slowly to their car looking beat up from the crowds.  I'll have to be honest in saying that our shopping experience went quite well, and the girls were quickly transitioning into Christmas mode.  By late afternoon I was ready to try and beat the traffic to Opryland for the lights.  Yes!!  I found a back way out of the mall and was able to get in front of the line for the lights.  As we pulled in I saw a sign saying, 12 DOLLARS CASH ONLY.  I was stunned that they were charging everyone to wander through the hotel, but then my stomach knotted as I realized that I had NO CASH.  I NEVER have cash anymore in this debit card society.  Who has CASH????  I begin to groan as I see cars lined up behind me waiting. I was just about to leave the line and go in search of an ATM machine when I heard the sweet voice of my oldest daughter exclaim, "I have twelve dollars"!!  "You're kidding.  How do YOU have twelve dollars", I asked.  The girl had saved her chore money and brought her purse on the trip because she knew we were going shopping.  Twelve dollars was ALL she had and she happily passed it forward.  I gleefully handed it to the attendant and we went right on in.

     As the night wore on I kept thinking about my daughter's sacrifice which ushered us into a wonderful family night at Opryland.  I still have so many great memories of that trip, but her sacrifice will always stand out.  As we drove home the next day I began having flashbacks to my childhood remembering THE CAN.  It was a joke at my house because I was a very stingy kid with money.  Every birthday and Christmas Day I would take the money I received and take it to THE CAN which was kept in a secret spot in my closet. My family joked about THE CAN, but nobody ever knew where it was.  Sometimes I would get my money out and dust it off before counting it and locking it away again.  As I drove I began to get teary because I realized that if my own father had been in that same predicament at Opryland, I would have stayed SILENT!!  There was no way I would have ever opened up my can and offered my own money for the enjoyment of my entire family.  How sad.  As a Dad I am always looking for teachable moments with my kids and here was one served up on a silver platter.

     When we got home I purposely allowed three days to go by without saying a word about reimbursing my daughter's generosity.  I wanted to see if she would ever come ask for it back.  Truthfully, I wasn't surprised that she never did.  On the third day after the schoolwork was complete I asked her to come to her room.  I then asked her to sit at her desk and open her Bible to 2 Corinthians 9 and begin reading.  When she got to verse 7 and read that God loves a cheerful giver I said, "STOP"!  I asked her to read that line over and over again.  I explained to her how much it meant to me for her to so willingly share her money with our family.  I explained about my selfish childhood days with THE CAN and thanked her for teaching me a great lesson.  I then asked her to hold out her hand as I started placing one dollar bills into her palm.  I counted out THIRTEEN ones and then told her that when she is faithful with what God has given her, He will always bless her back with more than she started.  I am thankful that God's Promises are true with finances and that since then she has seen many other examples of God's faithfulness with her money.  I am just a Dad who is very thankful that THE CAN is a thing of the past in my house.