I am guessing that half of you checked out at the mere mention of talking about money. So, for a moment let’s talk about something more fun: SCIENCE!
I have a little experiment for you to try this afternoon, but you have to promise me you won’t try this in a restaurant. Take a glass and fill it all the way to the brim with water. At first glance, it appears that it will not hold any more. Take a dropper or you can make one with a straw and see how many more drops your cup will actually hold. You might want to make an estimate before you start and see how close you are. As you drop each one, you will see that you can actually make the water rise above the rim of your glass until eventually it will not hold anymore and spill over. That is where the science comes in. What is happening to allow it to go above the rim is called surface tension.
Surface tension is essentially where the molecules get pretty chummy and form a tight bond at the surface not wanting to be separated. It is the thing that allows insects to land on the surface of water without drowning. Each time you add a new drop, the molecules find it harder and harder to hold onto each other until eventually that bond breaks and it spills over.
Now, I am under no illusion that when it comes to this budget that what Larry and I have to offer is just a drop in the bucket. I am also guessing that we are not alone. But here is the thing. What happens in this sacred space is good. The justice, the kindness, the healing, this love that happens here is desperately needed in this community. Secretly I like to imagine that our drop, added to all our drops, will be the one drop that causes all of this goodness to spill over the edges of these walls and flow out into the streets. And, OH what a day of rejoicing that will be! That is why we give.
~ Debbie Hoover