my 5 cents worth (sunday scribblings)

I'm the kind of person who likes to "put in my 5 cents worth".

But what does that really mean?
When I first read it, I was thinking about having an opinion- because that's the kind of situation where you hear someone use the phrase "that's my 5 cents worth". So to be a person who likes to "put in my 5 cents worth", must mean to be opinionated and talk a lot.

But in a wider sense, to "put in my 5 cents worth" is to make a contribution. It might be to a conversation, but there are many other ways to contribute something which is useful to others.

A little while ago, I went to a prayer meeting with a few people from my church. One of the things that we were asked to pray for was people's generosity. That began a conversation about how people could be generous- particularly in ways that don't involve money. The next day, I looked after Olivia, and her Mum thanked me- for being generous with my time(I didn't even realise that I had been...). In the conversation that followed, it occured to me that my parents are a great model of putting in 5 cents worth- and I probably learnt it from them.

Something I remember about growing up in a church with my Dad is that he didn't just pray for people who needed something. While I don't dismiss the value of prayer- there are times when people take the easy option and say "I'll pray for you", rather than the harder "how can I help you?" option. Things I remember my Dad doing for others, when I was younger, weren't huge things, but they were what you could consider 5 and 10 cent contributions, that made a difference to people. My Dad could be relied upon to fix things around people's houses or for bigger jobs, to find someone who could. He always used his "building industry" knowledge to help others- whether he was overseeing the church building maintenance, talking to someone about house extensions they were planning, or fixing a broken screen door. Perhaps it's partially due to his building industry background, but I think of my Dad as a practical guy- and I remember him buying extra bread to give to a family who were struggling, driving people to or from church, giving up his seat for someone else, helping to tidy up, giving up his "pocket money" to meet the needs of others.

Having written that, I wonder if my Dad ever realised that I was watching him, and learning from him (Michael and Andrew probably were too). I imagine that he wasn't thinking about that- he was just busy, doing what he could do. I don't remember him ever being thanked publicly for the huge contribution he made to our church, from "behind the scenes", which is sad, but I don't think he did it to be thanked.

It has made an impact. It taught me that I should never underestimate myself. Even 5 cent coins add up, and every little bit helps! As a result of watching my Dad- I don't think he ever talked about it, or explained it to me- I learnt to look for little things that I can do to help others.
I am thankful that my Dad taught me that lesson.

It's funny to be a "grown up", in a church away from my parents.
People are always surprised when they find me doing things- changing bin liners, stopping small children from eating random things off the floor, collecting cups after morning tea to take back to the kitchen... And I am surprised when they notice!
I guess I don't think about it too much. I'm just following my Dad's example, and doing what I can to help. It reminds me of 1 Corintians 11:1 "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ".

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This post was inspired by Sunday Scribblings. The original title was "my 2 cents", but it just didn't 'sound right' to me- because 2 cent coins aren't used in Australia any more!