“And don’t forget to sign up on the meals list. We have a few new moms and some others who could use our help right now.” Mabel stacked her papers. “That’s all for tonight. Have a wonderful week.”
Susan tucked her Bible study notes into her purse and gathered her things. Diane approached. “Good lesson tonight, wasn’t it?”
Susan smiled. “It was. Mabel always does a good job.”
“She does. This is a wonderful group. I missed Kelly, tonight, though.”
Susan slipped on her jacket. “Since Jack left, it’s been hard on her. She can’t always get a sitter, and even if she can, I can’t imagine she can afford the expense.”
Diane frowned. “You’re right. She’s a stay-at-home mom of three little ones. I hope Jack is sending support checks.”
“I remember Kelly worrying about getting new shoes for Matty. I don’t think they have a lot of money.”
“That’s really sad.”
“It is, but what can we do?”
Diane slid her arms into her jacket and followed Susan out of the room. “Have you signed up to help with meals?”
Susan’s stomach twisted. “No. And I know I should. They were really helpful when I had surgery last year. But it’s hard enough getting meals together for my family, and it’s an added expense I don’t need.”
“Makes sense.” They made their way down the hall and out to the parking lot. Susan pressed the key fob button to unlock her car door.
Diane raised her eyebrows. “Did you get a new car?”
Susan beamed, proud to show off. “I did. Jason started driving, so we gave him my car. It’s so much more convenient, not having to drive him to baseball practice all the time. Isn’t this a beauty?”
Diane nodded. “Very nice. I’m happy for you. I’ll see you next week.”
Susan drove home in comfort. The soft leather seats heated quickly, and the premium sound system surrounded her with instrumental Christian music. When she returned home, Sarah was on the phone with her boyfriend, Jason was playing video games in his room, and Mark was watching sports, as usual. Guess no one missed her tonight. She slipped off her shoes and made herself a cup of tea. As she sat with her mug, she scrolled through her email. Yes, just as Mabel had said, there were several requests for meals. Guilt tugged at her. She really didn’t have the time or money to feed another family right now. Still, she opened the meal schedules, more out of curiosity to see who needed help than to sign up.
As she scrolled through each of the four meal schedules, conviction overwhelmed her. For there, on every schedule, one name showed up faithfully. Kelly Grant. Kelly, who had no steady source of income, who struggled through each day to care for her children by herself, was making meals for every need the church body had.
Susan prayed silently. “God, I’m so sorry for my selfishness. You’ve been so generous to us. We’ve never gone hungry or had to decide what to give up in order to buy new shoes for our children. And now that Sarah and Jason are in high school, they don’t need as much attention. I have the money and the time to serve You. Please forgive me for not doing so.”
She opened her eyes and clicked through the meal schedules, choosing open slots where she could help. From now on, she was going to use her time and her money to help God.
Sarah entered the kitchen and plopped down next to her. “Mom, I need to do a service project. Can you think of something I can do to help someone in our community? I have to pick a project and write an essay on it.”
Susan stared at Sarah for a moment. “You know the Grant kids?”
Sarah’s lips curved upwards. “Sure. They’re adorable.”
“How would you like to donate your time and babysit them one night a week so Mrs. Grant can attend Bible study?”
“I’d love to. What a great idea. Sarah gave her a quick side-hug. Thanks, Mom!”
Mark 12: 41-44
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
God, sometimes we need to put things into perspective. We may feel we don’t have enough time or money to help others. Open our eyes to see the opportunities You’ve placed in our paths so we can help those in need. Thank you for those in our lives who serve as quiet, faithful examples of Your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
This is a great story on giving and to someone in need and also teaching our children to do the same.
We all need to be a little more like Kelly! Sometimes we need good examples in our lives to show us how to be more Christ-like.
I was a bit disappointed in this one. They could afford payments on a new car but couldn’t afford to make a meal for someone in need. I was expecting her friend to nicely point that glaring fact out. Her rethinking it at home reeks of guilt rather then any willingness to actually do any good. Not very Christian like. This one just seemed too passive to me, I guess.
Thanks for your feedback. I agree – she wasn’t being very Christian-like. I was trying to relate her a little bit to the rich people in the Bible text. They thought they were righteous for putting in a lot of money, but the widow put in all she had. The true Christian example in the story was Kelly, who served others with her limited time and money. I appreciate you letting me know how you felt – the stories can’t all speak to everyone!
I thought this was a great story. Its so easy to think we don’t have enough time/money to do things for others in need. I see many today who don’t seem to have money for various church projects but they have enough to buy expensive clothes, tattoos & body piercings, cars, jewelry, various ‘beauty treatments’, all kinds of entertainment, etc. Seems the more money we have, the poorer we think we are. Lord help us to not be so self-centered we can’t help those around us we know need help.
Keep those good stories coming – I love them.
Thank you so much for the encouragement. You’re right, we often think we need more than we do, and we forget there are so many others who are less fortunate. I’ll keep writing as long as God wants me to!
Another story I enjoyed. I think we all need to realize, ourselves, when we are being selfish. Sometimes it takes longer than I like for that “lightbulb” to come on. But those moments make a bigger impact on me. Just as Sarah had that “lightbulb” moment, she helped her daughter to have one too. I like your stories because they are every day people, people I can relate to.
Thanks for the encouragement. We all have moments where we can be used as both a good example and a bad example! God knew we needed both, so we find both in the Bible.