And He (Jesus) said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith;

for truly I say to you

If you have faith as a mustard seed,

You shall say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’

And it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you.

Matthew 17:20 (New American Standard Bible)

The Need Is Great

To help people in need the grocery store has a policy where the customer can choose to round up to the next dollar and donate their change. After rounding up and donating my twenty-eight cents, a story from the past came to mind.

            It was during the time when Houston became home to many of the Vietnamese Boat People, those who fled Vietnam in the late 70’s. I was attending a large church one Sunday morning when the minister announced that even though he didn’t normally take up a second offering, that day he was making an exception. He told how one of the janitorial staff was saving his money to bring his family from Vietnam, but the cost was thousands of dollars. It didn’t take a great imagination to realize that on this man’s salary, it would be years before the family was reunited. As the offering was being taken, I looked around the vast congregation and realized that if everyone gave an average of $15, knowing that some might only be able to give a dollar or less while others would be able to give much more, this the family would be reunited in six to eight months rather than six to eight years.

            That experience left an indelible imprint on my brain of the difference that can be made when everyone works together.

            Thought: Sometimes we meet a need not because we know it exists but because we do the right thing. A person I will call Lydia tells of the morning she stepped out of her house to speak to a man who explained he was trying to deliver some flowers to her neighbor but she wasn’t home. After agreeing to take the arrangement and give it to her neighbor later, Lydia handed the delivery man some bills for a tip. Instead of pocketing the money and leaving, he looked at her and exclaimed, ‘Now I can eat lunch.’ Because he was driving a nice car, looked nice, had a job and seemed okay, Lydia said she would never have guessed he was hungry, but his repeated statements that he could now eat lunch made her suspect he’d possibly skipped several meals lately. Just by doing what she’d been taught, a person ate.

            Sometimes the need has nothing to do with money. July 1, 2020 at about 12:30 a.m. I was alone in a room at the emergency veterinarian clinic waiting to be let in so that I could be with my sweet dog, Toby, as they put him down. Knowing the decision to do this was best for him didn’t make it any easier and I longed to hear a human voice. I texted a friend to see if she was awake, she texted back and then we talked on the phone. The relief of having the support of someone in such a moment was indescribable and something I will never forget.

A casual conversation in the parking lot morphed into a woman telling me about her life. The situation was serious and more than once she punctuated her story with, ‘I prayed all morning for someone to talk to.’ My ministry was to listen with my whole mind, accept her where she was, let her get it all out and not judge. At a point, hard as it was truth eventually had to be delivered. She was in an abusive situation that would only get worse. My suggestion was that she call the abuse hot line and then I named a few denominational churches in the area where she lived explaining that possibly they had a Stephens Ministry and would assign someone to walk with her through this problem. When it was evident she was finished saying all that needed to be said, we prayed and went our separate ways.  There was  no pat answer I could deliver and walk away feeling like a heroine who saved the day. But it was also not about me, it was about a woman who just needed to talk

            As an animal lover I couldn’t end this article without bringing up that sometimes the need is to reach out and help a lost or hungry animal or to give one in a rescue situation a good home.

            The need is great. Jesus says that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can move mountains. Twenty-eight cents, giving a dollar to a man who needs thousands, a listening ear, or taking care of a needy animal may be acts the size of a mustard seed, but, if we don’t plant the seed, the mountain won’t move.