In the depth of the Great Depression, railroad engineer Archie Lafferty of Perry, Iowa, had been unemployed for two years. By nature he was a generous man, but he had seven children to feed and there was no welfare safety net, so every penny counted. All this ran through his mind one Sunday morning as he sat in a pew at the little Christian Science church in Perry. It was almost time for the offering. He didn't have to feel his pocket. He knew how much he had -- a dollar and a dime. But he had more than money. From the Bible he'd glimpsed how God is the giver of all good. He trusted God with his health. Could he trust God with his money?
Perry, Iowa, during the Great Depression.
With so much gratitude for God-given health and happiness, he couldn't feel poor, so he confidently put a dollar in collection. Some might say that was a risky decision, but for Archie, trust was a verb. He trusted God to care for him, his children and everyone else who needed help. And what was the result? As he left church, one of his kids ran up with news of an immediate repair job at the Perry light plant. And the next day the railroad called him back to work. He was never unemployed again. Coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe trusting God really does pay rich dividends. It's worth a try.
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