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For Joy and Joe Canton, tithing hasn’t been something that they always could agree on. Joy grew up in the church. Her grandfather was a minister and her mother made sure that Joy attended church every week. From a young age, Joy was taught, “Ten percent of what you make belongs to the Lord. Not ten percent after you pay the bills, but ten percent from the top.” This belief was something that she practiced faithfully throughout her life and into her marriage. As for her husband, Joe, tithing was something that was never a part of his life. Growing up in the Catholic Church, Joe didn’t grow up with the desire to give to the church. According to him, “I gave a bit here and there. It seemed foolish to give off the top before making sure that I had enough money to pay the bills that I had.”

Although Joe didn’t care what Joy did when it came to tithing, there was always resistance about how much they should give to the church. “I prayed for my husband to come to the understanding about the importance of tithing,” said Joy. “I prayed that God would reveal that truth to him in a powerful way.” This prayer was something that Joy continued to pray over her husband through their marriage. Every time that the matter came up, and there would be an argument, Joy would pray that God would change her husband’s heart. Joy knew that her prayers would not be answered on her time but in God’s timing instead. She ended up waiting for almost ten years for an answer to her prayer. Although Joe never stopped her from tithing during this time, there would be arguments and disagreements about the amount of money that they were to give the church that week. “At one point, we made a compromise of sorts,” Joy said. “I said that we would split everything we made down the middle. I would give ten percent of my half and Joe could tithe whatever he wanted to from his half.”

This arrangement continued for a few years. Throughout the whole endeavor, Joy stuck to her beliefs. She knew that God wanted her to give the full ten percent. Not just the ten percent from her half, but the ten percent from the top of everything. Yet, she respected her husband’s wishes and continued to pray over him. Because of her attitude toward tithing, Joe realized that tithing was something that Joy would never turn away from. “I knew that this was important to her, but I just couldn’t see the logic in giving ten percent. I was donating time to the church as well and I figured that was enough.”

Every week, Joy would write out a check for the ten percent from her half and Joe would struggle with Joy’s decision. He was stuck between doing what he had been doing all his life and trusting that his wife’s belief of giving ten percent off the top was the right choice. After another disagreement about the amount they should be giving, Joy ended the conversation by saying, “I will keep giving ten percent from my half and you do whatever you want to with yours.” This middle ground of settling the tithing debate kept eating at the back of Joe’s mind. “I kept wondering what caused her to be so adamant about the whole situation,” said Joe. “After she said that, I went outside to weed-eat. I just need to think over everything and try to wrap my brain around it.”

“When he came back inside only I half hour later I knew something was up,” said Joy. “He was holding something in his hands and I couldn’t tell what it was.” It ended up being the exact amount of money that, combined with the money Joy was willing to give, equaled the ten percent off the top. “I was just weed-eating and all of a sudden it was like confetti,” Joe said. “I didn’t know what it was, thought it was just a piece of cardboard. But then I saw it lying on the ground and didn’t know what to think. When I brought it in to show Joy and we counted it, all doubts of tithing in my mind were gone.”

This answer to Joy’s prayers over the years happened almost ten years ago. At that time, Joe wasn’t a Christian. He was fighting against God and didn’t know what to believe. But, Joy never stopped praying. Since then, Joe has become saved and realized that on that day, his accidental windfall was a clear and present moment that God revealed himself. Although finding money like that has only happened the one time in their lives, Joy and Joe say that they are continually getting blessed in other ways as they tithe.

“When you give, it doesn’t mean that you are going to receive more money back,” says Joy. “That isn’t what I was taught.” Joe says, “Tithing is just giving Gods money back to him. It isn’t ours in the first place because everything is a gift that he gives to us.” When Joy and Joe tithe, they say they get something more out of the experience. By trusting in their faith and tithing off of the top, they feel that they are continually being blessed. All of their bills are paid on time, they are healthy and happy. “I believe that by tithing God gives us more blessings than we can imagine,” Says Joy. “There have been times when I have wondered how we are going to make ends meet, but, we still trust. We give off the top and always have enough left over to pay what needs paid.”

According to Joy and Joe, stepping out in their faith together has sparked changes in the way that they believe and the way they live. Their faith had deepened because of their commitment to tithing. Joe says, “That moment of finding the money, and realizing that it was the exact amount that I needed, was a wakeup call that I never expected. It was proof to me that everything I have is out of my control but not out of Gods.”