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It was one of those early greening days that inspires trust that spring is just moments away. Myrtle saw sprouts everywhere and buds swelled, basking in the warm sunlight.
The word “trust” had recently taken on new meaning for Myrtle. She thought it odd that one would use that word to designate a document that you use to gather assets and provide income.
She knew what trust in God meant, and she knew how she trusted her neighbors and friends who cared for her and looked in on her every day. She knew about the trust she placed in those who kept her retirement benefits, and the doctors who cared for her aches and pains. She knew also about the trust placed in her by God. Yes, that was a two-way street, wasn’t it? Sometimes she was the one who did the trusting. At other times it was she who was trusted, to do the right thing.
Part of her fulfillment of that trust placed in her by her Lord was to have put together a trust that would distribute her assets when she was gone, in ways that helped people live better.
Her trust would provide her an income for as long as she needed it, and then would go to her church and a half dozen other charities to fulfill her stewardship responsibility to God. Whatever was left would go to those worthy causes. Myrtle trusted that there would be enough to do some good, and that she wouldn’t need a lot for an emergency. Think about it. You can make a difference.
Sorting Out Priorities
George was on top of the world this lovely Spring morning. The robins seemed a little cheerier in their greeting. The daffodils looked a little perkier. Even the old cat went for its post-nap walk with a little more pep than usual. Everything was just right in George’s world.
The last two weeks, however, hadn’t been like that. George had been caught up in making a tough decision. He wrestled for many days with his own personal priorities and the tough questions about what kind of a legacy he would leave behind.
On the one hand, his children were important to him. They were all grown now and had families of their own, and responsibilities and debts. He wished he could help them. But they were all also pretty well off, and well educated, and they had the means and motive to keep themselves out of financial trouble. One thing he could do was help provide for the education of his grandchildren. They would have high college bills, he was sure.
On the other hand, his church was just as important. George had a life-long, strong commitment to his church backed by decades of service in nearly every leadership position that existed. He wanted to give a significant boost to their fledgling endowment fund so they’d be more financially stable in the future.
But George found the answer when he heard a financial planner talk about the “Life Income Trust” that could provide income to his grandchildren when they needed it, and yet have the residue go to the church endowment fund. That made George’s day. Think about it. You can make a difference.
Surprise!
Mildred went up to the post office in town this bright summer day with a lighter step than usual. The air smelled fresher and she was sure the cat on the post office porch gave her an unusually welcoming smile.
Mildred was thinking about the fact that in this morning’s mail there would be a packet of materials from her attorney. The previous week she had been up to the attorney’s office to carry out a plan she had worked long and hard on. The plan involved working through how she would distribute her estate among her heirs and her favorite charities. She had heard in some estate planning seminar that it was possible to work out a “zero tax” estate plan. And that was just what she wanted to do.
So she had worked with the attorney, who was at first doubtful if she could achieve her objective. The more she studied, the more questions she asked the attorney. The more she asked, the more he had to work to make it happen. Gradually, she enabled the attorney to find all the answers, and she had her “zero tax” estate plan.
One of the chief things that made her smile this morning was the thought of what a shock it would be for the church endowment committee when they discovered what she left them from her estate. She knew it would be a welcome surprise for a church that had struggled so much to make its endowment fund grow. Yes, it had been worth all the study and hard work. She was glad there would be no tax for Uncle Sam from her estate.Think about it. You can make a difference.
Happiness in Giving
Rose set off for vacation with a smile. Not because the day was warm and sunny, though it certainly was. Not because she was going to her favorite spot in the U.P. to a cabin she had gotten to know over the years, though that certainly was going to be a wonderful experience.
On this perfect summer day, Rose was smiling because she had finally gotten her trust back from the attorney, signed, sealed and delivered. It had taken several weeks. She had dealt with issues large and small; all of them pretty difficult issues to face. The eventuality of death, the need to care for her children and other heirs, the various types of assets she had, the naming of trustee and others to care for certain aspects of her estate. None of these was easy. But it had to be done.
Now Rose was comfortable that three critical things were taken care of. First, that her estate would pay no estate tax whatsoever. Second, that all her loved ones would be taken care of. Third, that her church would benefit from a substantial gift that she knew would never be used up, but would continue on, year after year, doing Christ’s work in the world.
And that was why Rose was really happy, because ever since she made the decision to give a very substantial amount to the church’s endowment fund, she had received a sort of inner peace and joy she had not previously known. Yes, it really was true, wasn’t it, that the more one gives, the more abundance and fullness one experiences. Think about it, you can make a difference.
Sacred Tradition
Pete and Marley are some of the busiest people you’d ever want to meet. They do everything. Church leadership, community positions and events, hobbies and sports, not to mention doting on those 4 grandchildren they have. In fact, Pete often says that he doesn’t know how he found the time to go to that job everyday during his working years, he’s so busy now in retirement pursuing all the things he feels he wants to get done.
One thing, though, that’s pretty sacred to Pete, and has been for all his adult life: his tithing. You see, Pete learned early in life that somehow it works out that the more one gives of one’s self, the richer one becomes. And he started putting that maxim to use at a relatively early age, about the time he left graduate school and started out in his engineering practice.
Marley didn’t have that kind of background, but when she met Pete, she learned through him and through their local church Bible study just how tithing works, and why it works. Now she’s a wholehearted supporter of the family tithe.
Recently, Pete and Marley were involved in a round of adjusting their estate plans. The arrival of that 4th grandchild necessitated some re-thinking of their plan. They took advantage of the timing to make a generous gift to the church’s endowment fund. They set up a charitable trust to benefit the education of their grandchildren, and put in a clause that, each year, gives 10% of whatever increase has accrued to the fund in the previous year, right off the top, to the church. They’re very happy now with their gift. Think about it. You can make a difference.
Nursing a Thought
As the rain spattered the window panes and the wind blew the wet red and gold leaves about the lawn, Irene felt a touch of melancholy coming on. For some reason, this year the coming of fall felt especially ominous. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she had just turned seventy the previous week and had found herself reflecting on life and its meaning for her.
Irene had been both a nurse and a school teacher, having taken up the classroom during periods when nursing had become less able to support her family of three. The early years of her retirement had been very active, full of doing all the things she had wanted to do during her working years. But lately, well, she was having to make more of an effort to think of things to occupy her time.
In the midst of this bit of reflection the phone rang, and it was her neighbor and friend Mildred, asking if she’d be able to sit in for a game of bridge that afternoon. She accepted in a minute, needing a little stimulation to get her out of this mood she was in. And then, during that bridge game, something unusual happened. The conversation switched somehow, she couldn’t remember just when, to how these women were going about making their estate plans. And Myrtle was saying how she left everything to her college, Mildred said she was giving a large sum to the local hospital. And suddenly Irene was thinking of new ways she could make a significant impact on the world in what to her was a new way. As Irene thought about it, perhaps the church could use a little something. She’d have to think about that.
New Thanksgiving
Harriet felt particularly blessed this chilly fall night as she prepared her home for guests the next day. It was her turn to serve a group from the homeless shelter for Thanksgiving Dinner, and it was always something she counted as a blessing.
Thanksgiving hadn’t always been this pleasant, however, because it was on that day 10 years before that she lost her husband Mike when he was only 72. Even now she was still not over the shock it has been to lose him so suddenly like that. Only with the help of church friends and her children had she been able to find some solace and make new ways of getting along in the world.
It was through this process that Harriet became acquainted with the truth that when giving of one’s self, one finds truly satisfying life. After that experience she decided to change some things in her life, economically. She lived more simply now, and more for others. She gave more. She enjoyed giving more.
As part of this new perspective on things, Harriet had gone to her attorney and changed her will. She made sure that her United Methodist church endowment fund received most of what she would have left when she finally passed this earth. She was really interested in seeing to it that the kind of support and love she had experienced when her Mike had passed would be around for others after she was gone.
Why endowment? Well, she didn’t expect to have all that much left over, and she knew that with endowment she could bet more out of her gift than otherwise. Think about it. You can make a difference.
Carrying on Tradition
Mary reached for the hot toast that had just popped up, and spread it liberally with her favorite jam. That, and her lovely hot cop of French roast coffee helped her feel toasty and warm on this bitterly cold day as winter closed in around her.
But inside, Mary’s spirit was warm and joyful and her heart was full of the kinds of joyous expectation that one feels when having made a gift to someone else. Today, she felt doubly blessed. First, because of a sense of internal security, and, secondly, because of a personal accomplishment.
The feeling of security came because she had completed a trust arrangement recently that gave her a substantial income for the rest of her life. At age 78, she had been a bit edgy in recent years wondering how she could manage her affairs as she became less able to do so. Her worries now had been laid to rest through this trust arrangement.
The feeling of accomplishment had to do with the fact that after she passed, the remainder of her trust would be used to accomplish an objective she had harbored for many years: to benefit international missions and the work of her church. Her father had been involved in India, and her heart went out to those people who struggled so with poverty. Now, when she no longer needed the income from the trust, those assets would be given to her church Endowment Fund for use in helping less fortunate people.
This was the kind of thing that brought warm thoughts to accompany the coffee and toast. Think about it, you can make a difference.
Winter Blahs?
George’s soul felt as dull and leaden as the clouds on this wintry morning. He needed a change. He longed for some excitement with his morning orange juice.
Just then the phone rang. On the other end of the line was Herb Miller, his co-chair of the Missions Committee at church. Herb thought it would be a great idea for the two of them to go down to the homeless shelter and dole out meals today. He had heard the shelter would be overcrowded due to the winter weather, and they’d need an extra hand.
Between ladles of beans and spoonfuls of rice, Herb couldn’t hide his exuberance at having made a fairly substantial gift to the shelter in his will that week. He and George went back a long way, and there were few if any secrets between them. So Herb told it all. He said it was a real thrill to be able to give from his estate in ways that he never could do while he still depended on his assets for daily bread.
By quitting time at 3:00 that afternoon, George could see that, at least for Herb, winter’s “blahs” had been replaced by a sense of excitement at making a gift. When he got home, the first thing he did was pick up the phone and call his lawyer. It was long since time to change his old will, something he had left undone ever since Helen’s passing. He no sooner made the appointment than he could feel a lift. He felt relieved to finally be taking this step, and he felt a sense of eager anticipation because he knew he would be making a substantial gift to the church this time around. Think about it. You can make a difference.
