What circumstances or experiences have shaped your life?
For 93-year-old Millie (name changed), her testimony was shaped by the Great Depression and deep loss, but also by an enduring faith and a lifetime of seeing God’s faithfulness unfold. Every chapter of her story points back to the same truth: God’s Word sustained her.
Millie was only six weeks old when her father suffered severe burns to his legs from an explosion. Overnight, Millie’s mother found herself caring for a newborn and a toddler while tending to a husband who was facing a long and painful recovery. Life was uncertain, and every dollar mattered. Yet when Millie looks back on those difficult years, she doesn’t first remember hardship. She remembers the faith that was demonstrated.
Every Sunday morning, Millie’s mother would reach into a small jar where she saved a few quarters and hand one to Millie and one to her sister before they left for church. The family didn’t have much, but her parents believed that honoring God was never dependent on how much they had. “We were taught to tithe,” Millie recalled. “To give to the Lord because of His goodness to us.”
Long before Millie understood phrases like “stewardship” or “planned giving,” she was learning a lesson that would shape the rest of her life:
Generosity isn’t born out of abundance; it grows from trusting the one who provides.
The Scripture Millie Carried Through the Years
As Millie grew older, that foundation of faith continued to guide her. She married a godly man, and they centered their efforts around family, teaching and serving others. Both were educators, and they poured themselves into the lives of children while also remaining deeply involved in their church and community. Together, the couple experienced the joys of raising a family. But they also walked through a devastating loss.
While Millie was pregnant with their younger son, the couple’s 7-year-old daughter tragically died. It’s difficult to imagine the depth of grief that Millie endured. Through her pain, she turned to God and His Word for comfort. Even now, decades later, she is still anchored by the promises found in Scripture. One particular passage resonates with Millie deeply:
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock. — Isaiah 26:3-4 (NLT)
For Millie, Scripture was what met her in her grief, strengthened her through suffering and continued to anchor and guide her throughout the next chapters of her life. This past Easter, Mille’s family experienced another tragic event — her son was involved in a head-on collision. Thankfully he survived but was hospitalized and treated for serious injuries. Millie believes the Lord’s presence was unmistakable in the moments that followed this event.
A Gift Rooted in Gratitude
Not long after her son’s accident, Millie received a mailing from Wycliffe Foundation that included information about charitable gift annuities. For Millie, this felt like an invitation and an opportunity to respond to God’s faithfulness through generosity.
A charitable gift annuity was not a completely new concept to Millie. Through family members connected with Faith Comes By Hearing (a Wycliffe partner organization), she learned about this unique giving option and appreciated that it could provide her with a lifetime income while also supporting a ministry she cared deeply about. When she received the information about charitable gift annuities, she saw it as another opportunity to worship the Lord and express her gratitude for His protection and provision.
Millie reached out to Wycliffe Foundation, and Michael Occhipinti, senior gift planning advisor, quickly connected with her. He walked alongside her throughout the process as she prayerfully considered her next step. For Millie, establishing a charitable gift annuity became another chapter in a lifelong response to God’s faithfulness — a tangible expression of her gratitude and worship.
The same person who learned, as a child, to place a quarter in the offering plate had grown into a woman who saw generosity as an act of worship.
What would Millie say to someone considering giving to God’s Kingdom? Her answer is simple: “If you do it once, it’s easier the next time. Make it a habit.”
Millie wasn’t really talking about generosity. She was talking about trust.
For over 90 years, Millie has cultivated a deep trust in God, believing that He will show up and provide in ways that only He can. This habit of trusting Him isn’t just about her finances — it’s about learning to return, again and again, to the God who has proven Himself faithful through every joy, every heartbreak and every season of life.
After a lifetime of experiencing God’s faithfulness through His Word and His presence, Millie’s desire is simple: She wants others to be able encounter God through Scripture in their language and be transformed, just like she has been.
God used His Word to sustain Millie in seasons of hardship. That’s why Bible translation matters so much. Every person should be able to experience the same comfort and hope of Scripture in a language and format they understand.
As people are able to engage with Scripture in their own language, they begin to understand that Jesus sees all of them and wants a relationship with them. He’s with them in every aspect of their lives, including their suffering.
“I don’t know what I would do without [Scripture],” Millie said. “People need to know that Jesus is their Savior.”
Even after all these years, Millie remains fixed on the Lord, trusting Him through every season of joy and sorrow. And she wants to give back so that others can know God through His Word.
Daring to Live Generously
How can you live generously with what God has entrusted to you?
Generosity begins with simply listening to God’s leading and stewarding His provisions wisely. Every person’s stewardship journey is unique, and there are many ways to support Bible translation while caring for your family and your financial future.
When you give to the work of Bible translation, you’re not simply funding an organization or supporting a project. You’re partnering with something far bigger: helping bring God’s Word to people who don’t have access to it in a language and format they clearly understand.
Revelation 7:9a says, “After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb” (NLT). This isn’t just something that might happen — it’s guaranteed! Because it’s promised in Scripture, you can have unwavering confidence that God will use your generosity to further His Kingdom.
So let’s continue to live generously and steward our time, talents and resources as we work toward a day when every man, woman and child is able to read, hear or see Scripture come to life in a way that touches their hearts and transforms their lives!
