Friday, November 16, 2007

Piggy Banking

When I first entered the ministry, I was doing youth ministry. Within a few years I had developed good friendships with many who married and began families. When their children were delivered, I always went to the hospital to visit. But I always wanted to take a little something as a gift, rather than go empty handed.

Very early on I settled on giving little ceramic banks. After all, I was in the Saving business. Sometimes they were piggy banks, or other animals. Sometimes I would give a football or other theme bank. I tried to make the banks fit the family. Sometimes it was hard to find the perfect bank, and I would settle for what I could find.

The giving of banks has become such a tradition that the moms often wonder what bank they will get from me. Now days if I here that one of our members is expecting, I will begin seeking the right bank long before the baby makes an appearance. I have on a couple of occasions, been able to buy banks in homelands of the mother, who came to the States with her groom. One came from Shanghai and was a monkey, matching the year of the Chinese zodiac in which the child was born. The other was from Belarus and was a figure of a little girl in traditional dress from that country.

I sometimes wish I had kept a list of the names of the children I had given banks at their birth, but I did not. I wonder how long it will be before I am able to present a bank to a child born to a parent that was also a recipient of a bank from me at their birth.


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4 comments:

hifidel said...

That's a very nice tradition, ff&f. It will be a nice day when you do get to present that bank to a child of parent(s) who also received a bank from you at their birth.

Family Fun and Faith said...

I am looking forward to that day, and it may not be much longer!

Unknown said...

What a neat idea! Don't tell anyone, but for someone who has fought tradition most of my life, I can be quite the traditionalist at times.

I hope you get to give out thousands of banks to the next generation.

Family Fun and Faith said...

Thanks Pinhole, I won't let your secret out.