The 2009 movie The Blind Side seems to be on television quite a bit. It is based on the true story of professional football player, Michael Oher, who was raised in a broken home before being welcomed into the home of Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy. It is an up- lifting story to see how an “at-risk” young man comes into a loving, caring environment which allows him to flourish as an athlete, as a student and more importantly as a person.
While the movie shows the generosity of the Tuohys towards one young man, it doesn’t tell the whole story. In a book titled In a Heartbeat, Sean and Leigh Anne talk about the countless numbers of students they helped through the years. For example, through their generosity, lunches were bought for hungry children, band uniforms were provided for students who couldn’t afford them, a suit was purchased for a young man who needed one to attend a funeral.
The remarkable thing about the Tuohys is that they didn’t wait until they were afflu- ent to start being generous. Many times they covered other people’s expenses while still worrying about how to meet their own. For them, generosity became a way of life. Giv- ing came first and their own needs came second.
There is no telling how many people Sean and Leigh Anne have helped over the years. Certainly the success of Michael Oher has put a spotlight on their family, but their generosity has impacted lives we will never hear about. Sean writes, “My responsibility is to be happy with the act of giving without expecting a result.”
The same is true with our generosity. God calls us to be generous. “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:11) We don’t al- ways know the outcome of our generosity, but we know that without the support of our church, ministries don’t take place and life transformation doesn’t happen.
As we look at our church’s giving for the first quarter in 2018 we are behind where we hoped to be. As always, the Finance Committee is monitoring the situation and will employ good stewardship and financial practices to act responsibly. It would be a shame if we had to cut back on some of the ministries we hoped to carry out because we lack the resources. It is my hope and prayer that we will accept the call of God to honor Him with our tithes and offerings. We don’t always know the difference these will make in someone’s life, but it is a wonderful thing to hear the testimonies of those who have been “blindsided” by His grace through the outreach of Wightman UMC.
– Pastor Brian