For years, Russell Graeter avoided a relationship with God. Every time the doors were open to the church, which Graeter\u2019s wife MaryAnn faithfully attended, Russell stayed home. But MaryAnn never gave up on winning her husband to Christ and prayed for him every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEvery night she\u2019d read me the Bible,\u201d Graeter says. \u201cShe was a dear person and spent so much time trying to get me to become a Christian \u2014 time I wasted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Graeter says biblical generosity had always been part of the couple\u2019s marriage, even before he followed the Lord. He admits his early intentions for giving were misplaced. \u201cAt first, I tithed for an evil purpose,\u201d Graeter says. \u201cMaryAnn told me, \u2018If you give ten percent, God will give you back more than you can imagine.\u2019 And I thought, \u2018Boy, this\u2019ll be a way to end this. I\u2019ll do it and it won\u2019t happen and we can forget this whole thing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The couple started tithing in 1947 when they were married. Today, three-quarters of a century after his tithing experiment began, Graeter is still giving, now with the right motives, and God is multiplying his gifts. Since MaryAnn\u2019s death in 2019, Graeter has focused on making larger contributions in her honor through his donor advised fund. Graeter\u2019s most recent gift was directed to an International Mission Board (IMB) refugee center in Northern Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen Mr. Graeter asked about the budget needed for the project, he shared that he had $150,000 to distribute over a three-year period,\u201d explains Holly Blakey, WatersEdge director of donor relations. \u201cWhen I received the numbers from IMB, the figures matched, which means his gift will completely fund the refugee center. That\u2019s God at work!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even without his beloved MaryAnn, Graeter intends to keep giving as long as he\u2019s able, and even after he\u2019s gone. The thing that keeps him here? Graeter thinks God is not done with him yet, so at 95 he continues to give.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s sort of like giving away what you never owned. It all belongs to God,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n