“But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬

I used to go to our town’s municipal swimming pool every day during the hot Wisconsin summers. My mom bought season passes for my sister and me and would drop us off each morning as soon as they opened. She was as disappointed as we were on days when thunderstorms threatened, and the pool was closed. My dad would pick us up when he got off work.

I loved swimming and hanging out with my friends at the pool. Looking back, I have no idea how I spent all those hours at the pool every afternoon. But I don’t ever recall being bored or wanting to leave.

I do remember having to work up my nerve to use the diving boards though. Years went by before I tried for the first time. There were three boards: low, middle, and high. The low board was easy enough once I got the hang of it. The middle board wasn’t that much of a challenge, and the big kids made it look so fun that I eventually got comfortable with it, bouncing fairly high before diving in (or more likely, cannonballing.)

The high dive was something altogether different. There was always a line of kids going up the ladder waiting. If you got to the top and were too scared, it was a big deal to make all those kids climb down to let you off. Plenty of jeers and boos and taunts.

I remember the first time I risked testing out the high dive. My heart raced as I climbed the ladder, higher and higher, the wet bum of the kid in front of me dripping in my face. I’m not scared of heights, but when I got to the top, it felt like I was on top of a skyscraper. All the children below me looked so small. The board seemed impossibly long and narrow, and the hand rails didn’t go all the way out there.

I breathed deeply. I stepped away from the hand rails slowly. The kids behind me groaned. I decided I couldn’t do it and moved to turn back, but the expression on the next kid’s face stopped me.

I wobbled out to the very end of the board, terrified. I thought of all the things that could go wrong. But then I remembered all the kids I’d seen dive off without a thought. I decided I had to step off (the idea of actually diving made me swoon) without thinking about it anymore. My feet would have to do it by themselves without me knowing about it. So I stood there, watching some kid who was getting yelled at for running, and suddenly my feet stepped off the end of the board.

I was surprised.

And I was in midair. Weightless — such a crazy feeling — for the briefest of moments. And then I hit the water.

(I’m glad that first time I landed feet first because if I had landed any other way I may never have done it again. Water is hard!)

But when I went into the water, everything was OK. I was safe. Nothing horrible happened. I swam up to the surface and got out. Life at the pool went on.

I think partly, this is what Jesus is talking about in today’s verse. Giving is scary. It’s easy to think about the things that can go wrong or other ways that I could use that money. But He insists that I will be OK. If I trust Him with my money, He will bless me and take care of me.

So, I just do it. I let my feet step off without thinking or making a big deal. I let my right hand write the check while my left hand is busy with something else. It’s the best way. And everything will be OK.

Dear God,

Thank you for your promise to bless me and care for me when I trust you with my possessions and my money. They are yours. Thank you for letting me make use of them. Help me to remember to be generous with all that I have and to do it quickly, simply, and quietly, with prayer but without fanfare.