“Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord”
Proverbs 19:17
Lent is a beautiful time of preparation. It is a time when we ready our hearts for the amazing work of God’s redemption on Easter Sunday. Throughout Lent, we mark our time with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Prayer and fasting have to do with our relationship with God and with ourselves, and almsgiving has to do with our neighbor. While there is a great focus on prayer and fasting in Lent, we don’t hear much about almsgiving. Almsgiving is collecting and distributing money for those in need. When Jesus gives the story of the Good Samaritan, the Good Samaritan does not just pray for the wounded man, he takes care of all of his needs.
Traditionally, during the season of Lent, alms boxes are placed on a table right when you walk into church and in a prominent place in your home. We always place ours in the center of the table that we eat at.
As we give up things for Lent, we take the money that we would have spent on those things and place the money in our alms box. It is exciting to watch the box fill up as Lent progresses! And there is so much joy at the end to see how much money you have raised as a family and to decide on the way that you will give it away.
Having an alms box for Lent is a wonderful way to walk with your children through the season. It helps them to see that preparing our hearts for the Lord involves prayer and fasting but also helping those in need.
If you’d like to make an alms box for your home, I created this easy and inexpensive alms jar. This is a kid-friendly project! Let your kids have fun making it. The craft was created to embrace imperfections and little hands!
Alms Jar for Lent
Supplies:
Glass Jar
Silver or white sharpie
Money
Clean the outside of the glass jar.
Have a child with good handwriting write, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord.” Let your kids take turns making little crosses all over the jar. Place it on your kitchen or dining table. Have them add their money throughout the season.
Have a blessed Lent! +
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