Ten years ago, the church I was the minister of was broken into over Thanksgiving weekend and almost set on fire. It was a small congregation with an older, historic building, running an annual deficit and I was losing all sorts of sleep over how much cleanup and restoration would cost us. People all around town chipped in money to make sure we met our insurance deductible--and this was before Gofundme had really become a thing. It was for the congregation absolutely, but with all the worry and stress I was carrying, it felt like it was a blessing to me as well. I continue to treasure my memories of the seven years I spent as that church's pastor.

(The insurance company went on to drop the congregation as a client, so they definitely ended up on the naughty list, but that's another story for another time.)