The Girl Who Gave Everything Away: The Story Behind "God Loveth A Cheerful Giver"
One afternoon, Sam Butcher's daughter Debbie came home carrying a box of kittens. They were about to be euthanized, and Debbie — being Debbie — couldn't let that happen. She arrived with the box and a question for her father:
"Daddy, do you have any friends who need a pet? I have some kittens here that I would be glad to give away for free!"
It was such a simple thing. A teenager, a box of animals, a practical question. But Sam saw something in it that most people would have missed entirely.
Debbie had always been this way. While her friends spent their babysitting earnings on clothes and the things teenagers wanted, Debbie spent hers at the veterinarian's office — caring for animals in need, helping out her friends, quietly giving away whatever she had to whoever needed it more. Generosity wasn't something Debbie performed. It was simply how she moved through the world.
To illustrate the profound beauty of his daughter's generous spirit, Sam created God Loveth A Cheerful Giver — one of the first two authentic Precious Moments figurines, alongside Come Let Us Adore Him. The figurine depicts a young girl with a sign advertising puppies for free. And if you look closely at that sign, you'll notice something.
It reads: Free Puppiess.
The Imperfections That Made It Perfect
There is an extra s in "Puppies." It is not a printing error. It is not a production flaw. It was there from the beginning, and it has been one of the most quietly beloved details in the entire Precious Moments collection ever since.
Sam never explained the misspelling as intentional — it simply appeared, the kind of small imperfection that slips through when someone is drawing from the heart rather than checking their spelling. And in keeping with one of Sam's deepest beliefs about his own work, that imperfection became part of what makes the original figurine so human, so warm, so undeniably real.
Sam often said that the things we think of as flaws are sometimes what make something more beautiful — not less. God Loveth A Cheerful Giver, with its extra s and its girl who just wants to find good homes for animals she didn't even own, is perhaps the clearest expression of that belief.
The title comes from 2 Corinthians 9:7: "God loves a cheerful giver." Sam didn't need to look far for his subject. He just had to watch his daughter come through the front door.
The complete Original 21 Precious Moments figurines
- Unto Us, A Child Is Born (E-2013)
- Jesus Is Born (E-2012)
- His Burden Is Light (E-1380G)
- Come Let Us Adore Him (E-2011)
- Love Lifted Me (E-1375A)
- Jesus Is The Answer (E-1381)
- Make A Joyful Noise (E-1374G)
- Prayer Changes Things (E-1375B)
- He Leadeth Me (E-1377A)
- We Have Seen His Star (E-2010)
- Jesus Is The Light (E-1373G)
- Jesus Loves Me (Boy) (E-1372B)
- Jesus Loves Me (Girl) (E-1372G)
- Love One Another (E-1376)
- God Understands (E-1379B)
- Smile God Loves You (E-1373B)
- God Loveth A Cheerful Giver (E-1378)
- Love Is Kind (E-1379A)
- O, How I Love Jesus (E-1380B)
- He Careth For You (E-1377B)
- Praise The Lord Anyhow (E-1374B)
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→ Next: Honk If You Love Jesus: The Story Behind "Make A Joyful Noise"
← Overview + complete list: The Original 21 Precious Moments Figurines: Where It All Began
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