“Thank God Every Day!” Reggie whispered as he lifted his head toward the bishop ending the united prayer with “In Jesus Name… Amen.” As Reggie directed his attention to the screen announcements his wife nudged him to ask, “Are you ok?” Reggie responded, “Yes” after blinking to stop the tears falling from his watery eyes. She and the rest of his family could tell that he was still blaming himself for not taking his mother to the hospital when she was feeling chest pains.

As Reggie filled out his envelope for the offering he reflected on the bishop’s sermon. It was a powerful word of faith message about the blessings of giving and a tithe challenge. The past few months had been a struggle for Reggie, and he was beginning to question his faith. His graphic design business was slow, and he had just withdrawn his last bit of savings to pay for his mother’s funeral costs. He was covering the expenses because the life insurance company was waiting on autopsy results before paying the claim. They were questioning the cause of death and were even suspecting foul play.

Although he was enjoying the singing of the choir and the bishop’s message, sadness enter his train of thought before he placed his giving in the envelope. As service came to an end an invitation of hope was heard. ”At this time… I would like to call any person to the alter that would like to join this church”, the bishop said. “If you don’t have a church home or you just want to change your life, please feel free to come to the front.” The crowd applauded the first time visitors and new worshippers who approached the aisles. Church came to an close and Reggie peacefully exited with his family. Reggie smiled and looked to the sky to say “Happy Mother’s Day,” as his Mother looked down on him from her new paradise. His father glanced over and said, “Son, time heals all and it’s going to be ok”. His wife followed up lovingly to say, “Your mother is in a better place and she has no more pain.”

A couple of days later, Reggie received an email from a client who needed a rush job and was willing to pay twice the amount in order to meet his deadline. Shortly after, he checked his bank account and noticed that an escrow refund had been deposited because of overpaid property taxes. Feeling that his day couldn’t get much better, he received a call from the mortuary to inform him that his mothers passing was natural because of organic heart disease. This would ensure that the insurance company would pay the policy in full once they receive a copy of the death certificate.

After doing the math, Reggie noticed that his finances now more than tripled the cost of the funeral expenses. He paused for a second and immediately flashed back to the tithe challenge when he gave three times more than his usual contribution. Feeling the Holy Spirit and shouting with joy Reggie looked up to his Mother in the heavens and said, “From this day forward, I will Thank God Every Day!”

Short story by – Reggie Basheem Coleman