This is one of my favorite stories that I used to tell a lot but I haven’t told it now probably for ten years.

In 1960 Dad retired from the Navy, and we bought our first farm on North Myrtle Road, 13 miles out of Myrtle Creek. My Dad’s sister and her husband, Uncle Bill, visited us about a year later. I had never met Uncle Bill or Aunt Mabel because they had never visited us before. After all, we moved so much while Dad was in the Navy that they couldn’t figure out where we lived; at least, that is what Uncle Bill said.

When they drove into the driveway, Dad told me that after all the greeting was finished, to carry their suitcases into the room where they were staying. I did that, and when I finished, Uncle Bill gave me a nickel. I thanked him enthusiastically; a nickel was worth a lot more in 1961 than it is now. I could buy a pack of bubble gum with five baseball cards for a nickel back then. Later I brought him the paper, and he gave me another nickel, a cup of coffee, and, yep, you guessed it, yet another nickel. On one of those nickel experiences, I noticed that Uncle Bill had a big bulge in his pants pocket where he was getting the nickels from. I concluded that Uncle Bill was rich. There was a bit of a lull in Uncle Bill’s generosity, so I didn’t wait for him; I just asked him for a nickel. He, without hesitation, reached into His pocket and brought out a nice shiny nickel, and gave it to me. My mom was just around the corner in the kitchen and heard me ask Uncle Bill for a nickel, and she came around the corner, spitting mad, and I thought I was going to get a significant whipping. Uncle Bill intervened and said, Bernice ( that was my Mom’s name), that is OK; I would like for Dee to ask me for a nickel any time he wants. Mom wasn’t too happy with me begging for nickels, as she put it, but reluctantly agreed to Uncle Bill’s generosity after he assured her it was what he wanted. So I became Uncle Bill’s shadow; every place he went, I went. I even tried to go into the bathroom with him, but he assured me he would not be long and for me to wait outside the bathroom. Actually, we had an outhouse, not a regular bathroom, and it was a two-holer, so I thought it would be fantastic for us to sit together. At some point, I took the initiative and asked Uncle Bill to go ahead and give me all the nickels in his pocket, and then he wouldn’t be bothered with me shadowing him anymore. He sat down and looked me in the eye, and said, “A major reason for our visit was to get to know you boys, but I knew Junior High boys wouldn’t have any interest in hanging out with their old Uncle Bill, so I came up with this plan to bribe you. You know, if I gave you all my nickels now, I wouldn’t see you much for the rest of our time here; no, I will keep my nickels, but you keep asking, and I will keep giving.”

One of my significant mottos with prayer is, “Much Prayer – Much Blessing; Little Prayer – Little Blessing; No Prayer – No Blessing.” Is that because God is a reluctant giver and needs persuading? I don’t think so; I think God wants our time, fellowship, and attention, and He is willing to give us nickels whenever we ask to get our time with Him. We get so busy with our lives that we quickly forget all about God and give Him just token, left-over time.