![]() Near the end of the novel, Kristin reflects on the differences between her father Lavrans’s approach to charity and that of her son Gaute. As a relatively recent convert, I sympathize with the sense of still getting one’s sea legs in a world of miracles. Sigrid Undset’s novel is set in medieval Norway, at a time when the country has technically been Christianized, but the people are still learning how to live in a world touched by grace, where forgiveness can heal. This year, the run up to Christmas has been shaped by my husband’s and my participation in a Kristin Lavransdatter book club. ![]() Ultimately, what wound up recorded in the cells of my spreadsheet was shaped by both our families’ habits of charity. ![]() We talked about their example of tithing and how we might set targets for our own household. ![]() ![]() In the days following our first Christmas, I brought a spreadsheet to the discussion, and my husband brought in his parents, with whom we were staying for the holidays. This year is my third Christmas as a married woman, and one of the changes that came shortly after my October wedding was that, for the first time, my choices about charitable donations at the end of the year were a conversation, not something I made my mind up about alone. ![]()
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