The little girl only had the equivalent of a few pence, yet with that she created a legacy that will last longer than anyone reading this message right now….
Her name was Hattie May Wiatt, a six-year-old girl, who lived near Grace Baptist Church in Philadelphia, USA. Back then, the Sunday school was very crowded. Russell H. Conwell, the minister, told her that one day they would have buildings big enough to allow everyone to attend. She said, ‘I hope you will. It is so crowded; I am afraid to go there alone.’ He replied, ‘When we get the money, we will construct one large enough to get all the children in.’
Two years later, little Hattie May died. After the funeral, Hattie’s mother gave the minister a little bag they had found under their daughter’s pillow containing 57 cents in change, that she had saved up. Alongside it was a note in her handwriting: ‘To help build bigger church so that more children can go to Sunday school.’
The minister changed all the money into pennies and offered each one for sale. He received $250 – and 54 (of the 57) cents were given back. The $250 was itself changed into pennies and sold by the newly formed ‘Wiatt Mite Society’. In this way, her 57 cents kept on multiplying.
Twenty-six years later, in December 1912, in a talk entitled, ‘The history of the 57 cents’, the minister shared the results of that little girls 57-cent donation:
- a church with a membership of over 5,600 people,
- a hospital where tens of thousands of people had been treated,
- 80,000 young people going through university,
- 2,000 people going out to preach the gospel.
All this happened ‘because Hattie May Wiatt invested her 57 cents’.
Give what you can, and it will be multiplied
I felt quite emotional when I first read about the brief life but lasting legacy of Hattie May Wiatt. She’s with the Lord now. What a legacy though. That handwritten note, with her own life savings. #humbled.
Whilst so many people give, so many people don’t give because they say they can’t afford to, or they say they’ll give when they are richer. To create wealth and make a difference in this world, one does not have to be wealthy. One just must care enough about others to act and act now. Life is short, even at the longest, so whatever you’re thinking about ‘doing good’ or ‘making a difference’, do it now. And by grace…
Whatever You Give, God will Multiply!
God Bless
Derek x