June 13, 2017 SHARE: Reading time: two minutes. Today is the last of the “water analogies” around the Lutheran Wellness Wheel. Today: Financial. Thirty-five years ago when we were raising babies, I thought the “sippy seal” was about the greatest invention ever. Our kids used the Tupperware cup with a snap on lid and a little spout that when it tipped over only dumped out a little bit of juice. I was a bit overwhelmed by the new version our grandkids use that let’s drips out about like Fort Knox leaks gold! Great design! Advancements in sippy seal technology! It makes me wonder a bit what God had in mind when He designed us to leak like the crankcase of my old 1966 Ford Falcon. Really? We truly are “jars of clay” (2 Cor. 4:7). We leak. But that’s good. God is glorified and the gospel of Christ is honored when people recognize our frailty and weakness. Salvation can’t be from us. Just look at us! Cracked. Leaky. The goodness of God, poured out on the world through Word and Sacrament, is His gift, His doing. Leaky is good when it comes to financial wellbeing also. The Rich Fool stored up his treasure in barns with no leaks. That didn’t work out well. God didn’t design us to be sippy seal cups. Made in His own image, we’re called to be fountains of blessing; rivers, not reservoirs. David had it right: “My cup overflows” (Psalm 23:5). All who have known the grace of God by faith know that God is lavish in His dispensations of grace, love and mercy. My cup overflows because His flagon pours out goodness so bountifully and unceasingly. Financial wellbeing is never about mathematics. Generosity always has been and always will be a matter of the heart. My old nature worries about excess leakage, about drips and spills that escape from my little sippy seal cup. My new nature in Christ understands that sloppy, messy, boundless giving that spills all over the place is the way of the kingdom of God. I planted shrubs over the weekend. It’s getting hot in St Louis already and they’ll need water. I wrapped each bush a couple times around with another great invention: the soaker hose. It looks like one of the worst inventions ever. It doesn’t in any way fit the dictionary definition of “hose.” You open the faucet on one end and nothing comes out the other end. The water all spills out along the way. It’s designed to leak. So are we. God bless your journey of generosity. And thanks for reading. Are you interested in helping bring a Grace Place Wellness Retreat to your region? We’d love to hear from you. Contact our President/CEO Randy Fauser today to begin exploring the possibilities. Let’s have a conversation about bringing our Church Worker Retreat to your area soon!