My Grandmother’s Envelopes

I remember my grandmother’s pocketbook.
It was a large black pocketbook with two handles.
She kept it next to the chair on which she always sat.
I knew better than to look inside; however, I loved when she showed it to me.

She had a wonderful coin purse that was terribly hard to open.
My little girl fingers could not twist the clasp.
Her arthritic fingers had just as much difficulty when she tried to open it.
We were a pair, she and I.

I remember her white handkerchiefs folded neatly and placed in an inside pocket.
One handkerchief had some flowers embroidered on the corner.
She always had paper folded and tucked away in case she needed to write something down.
I never remember seeing a pen, however.

My grandmother usually had mints in the bottom of her pocketbook.
Even then, I never liked the flavor of mint so I never asked her for one.
What I remember most were the envelopes.
My grandmother had many white envelops in her pocketbook.

My grandmother kept money inside each envelope.
I remember the day I asked her what the money was for; my curiosity got the best of me.
She carefully took each envelope out of her pocketbook and showed me.
She pointed to each word, written in her perfect cursive handwriting.

One envelope said, Paperboy.
Another envelope said, Church.
Still another said, Electric.
Another said, Water.

This was how my grandmother paid her bills.
For a woman who lived through the Depression, her pocketbook was her bank.
No amount of coaxing from my mother or my aunt would persuade her to change her system.
She was never late in paying any of her bills; the money was always set aside.

It was her foolproof system.
My grandmother never wasted an envelope.
She used the same one all the time until it ripped.
Only then would she throw it away and get another one.

I smile when I think that I do the same thing, though not as extreme.
I do not have envelopes but I have different sections of my wallet for various things.
I noticed that I have an envelope I use all the time if I have to go to the bank.
Grandmom, you would be pleased.

It was my grandmother’s money, though it was designated for various things.
As a widow, she relied on her Social Security check, which my mother would cash for her.
It was from that amount, her envelopes were filled.
She always had enough; she never asked for more.

Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” He saw through their duplicity and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent. (Luke 20:20-26)

The chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders tried desperately to trap Jesus.
On the Wednesday of Holy Week, they tried various tactics to get Jesus to slip up in some way.
They wanted to arrest Jesus and were trying to find some way of doing it without starting a riot.
The people hung on Jesus’ every word. (Luke 19:48)

They thought that the ultimate way to trap Jesus would be a question about paying taxes.
If Jesus said it was lawful to pay the tax, the people would be against Him.
If Jesus said it was unlawful to pay the tax, He could be arrested by the Romans for treason.
Jesus was too shrewd to fall for their trap.

Jesus asked for a specific coin to be brought to Him.
The denarius had a picture of Caesar and an inscription.
The denarius had titles of honor for the emperor, Caesar, inscribed on them.
Those titles included, Lord and Savior.

Jesus answered them perfectly.
Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.
Jesus was saying that only the coin belongs to Caesar; that is what should be given to him.
Everything belongs to God.

Since we are made in the image of God, we belong to Him.
It is as if His inscription is placed on us.
We are engraved on the palms of His hands. (Isaiah 49:16)
Jesus alone is our Lord and Savior.

Much like my grandmother’s envelopes, money is set aside for this purpose or that.
However, everything belongs to God.
No envelope would be large enough to contain all that belongs to Him.
We are imprinted with His image.

Lord Jesus, help us to remember that we are made in Your image. We carry around Your inscription day to day for others to see. May we draw others to You as they see that we are undeniably Yours. Amen.