Giving out of your poverty

 

    As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. "Truly I tell you," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

Luke 21:1-4 NIV

    This passage was presented on my Pray As You Go devotional this morning and it struck me in a different way.  I don't know how many times I've studied this passage.  It's so meaningful to me that I often wear a "Widow's Mite" on a necklace to remind me that no matter how little I have to give God can use it.  Today what stood out to me was that while I cannot identify with the widow's financial poverty, I have a poverty of my own.  I have so little energy and ability to be physically present that I have, in the past, written off my ability to be of service.  The truth is, God can use whatever we give Him, no matter how little.  

    My husband serves SO MUCH!  He recently passed up 1,500 hours of service at the local homeless rescue mission. He's there multiple times a week, and when he's not there in person he's often shopping for things to donate or helping out virtually with computer work.  A week ago he spent eight hours in their freezer sorting it out and getting things ready for holiday donations.  I can't do that.  I served for the first time a couple of weeks ago with the dinner service.  My husband brought me in our manual wheelchair and I sat and cut up bread to put in the dinner boxes.  Later, I wanted to help out so much that I got out of the chair and placed the bread into the boxes, but that was all I could do.  I just sat on the sidelines and watched.  I wasn't helpful.  I wasn't of service.  I was mostly just in the way.

    I was comparing my service and my ability to serve to my husband.  The fact is, we are very different people with very different abilities.  He is serving out of his abundance, and I out of my poverty.  I need to not allow my poverty to prevent me from doing what I CAN do. Just because I can't serve as much as my husband doesn't mean that I shouldn't serve at all.  Perhaps me doing what I can could be an inspiration to others. 

Here's the thing: As I mentioned in a previous post, it seems that the world sees people in wheelchairs as those who need to be served and not as those that can serve others.  I think this is not true at all and the best way for me to work towards breaking this myth is to do it!