open the windows of heaven

Malachi 3:10
"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

I've had this scripture run through my mind many times - I have no doubt that this principle is true, for I've seen the fruits of it in my own life.  As members of our church, we're asked to pay 10% of our income as tithing and also be generous in fast offerings.  At first, this may seem like a really hard task, but this scripture promises that when we keep the law of tithing, the windows of heaven will be opened and blessings poured upon us.  And while we may not realize what blessings (whether temporal or spiritual) that we're receiving as a result of paying tithing, we have the assurance that we will be blessed.  At times, it has been very obvious to us how the Lord provides for us.  I asked Alex if I could share one of his experiences with tithing (probably one of his very first experiences with tithing).  Alex is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  He joined when he was in college.  One of his early experiences with tithing was when he was getting ready to go on a mission for the church.  In preparation, he needed to get a suit, tie, and appropriate attire for what is expected of missionaries to wear while serving their mission.  Shortly before he was to go on his mission, he had a choice to make.  He still did not have a suit, but he also had not paid tithing yet.  He didn't know what to do - missionaries have to be dressed appropriately, but the thought came to him that if he was going to go out and teach the principle of tithing to others, he had better live that principle himself.  He decided to pay his tithing (using what he needed to buy a suit) and still wondering what he was going to do.  Well, it wasn't long after that (maybe even the next day), that he got a check in the mail as a refund from the Bursar's office (from the university).  AND it was the SAME amount that he had paid tithing and just what he needed to buy a suit.  A coincidence?  I don't think so.  I think that was the Lord's way of blessing Alex for paying his tithing.  The Lord says "prove me now herewith if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing." 

Sometimes it takes a little bit of faith, but we will be blessed when we put the Lord first.  Things just seem to work out when we pay our tithes and offerings.  Alex and I were also strengthened in our testimony of this principle early on in our marriage.  When you don't have much money and funds are tight it seems hard to give that 10%.  But we kept doing so, and every time we would be blessed in unexpected ways.  I don't know all the blessings that have come as a result of paying tithing, but I can acknowledge that the windows of heaven have been opened.  I look at my husband, our 4 boys, the opportunities we've been given and the comforts of life, and I feel overwhelmed with gratitude for the blessings in my life ("...that there shall not be room enough to receive it").