Today’s scripture: Mark 12:41-44 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Linda Bernabie):
These verses speaks to me in a very personal way, and I am always reminded of the widow’s green beans when I read them.
I was raised in a family that in today’s terms would best be described as “the working poor.” Mom stretched paychecks by giving us powdered milk, watered-down orange juice (Mom called it “orangeade”), bread from the day-old store, and lots of mystery meat. The family managed okay, but one unexpected hiccup and the family coffers could be in trouble. When I was in high school, one of those hiccups suddenly happened.
While my dad was painting my grandmother’s home, he fell from a ladder. He landed on the pavement and hit his head. He was in a coma for weeks and hospitalized for months. A couple of weeks before Christmas, Daddy was released from the hospital so he could finish recuperating at home. As Christmas approached, family, friends, neighbors, church family, and Dad’s co-workers began to drop by and bring us “things.” — all of which we desperately needed.
One day, while sitting by the window, I noticed someone walking up our driveway. It was Mrs. Deming, a poor but pious widow of a Four Square Gospel minister. She could best be described as looking like Dana Carvey’s “church lady” in Saturday Night Live with the waddle of Batman’s nemesis, “The Penguin.” This woman was very strange, and she scared the heck out of every kid on the block.
As she came closer to our house, I noticed she was carrying a rolled-up newspaper in one hand and a small bouquet of flowers in her other. I yelled to my mother, “Old lady Deming is on her way over, and she’s got something in her hands.”
Mom yelled back, “Just answer the door and tell her I am not home.”
“Gee, thanks, Mom!!”
I opened the door, and this eccentric old lady handed me a small bouquet of dusty artificial lilacs that smelled of cheap perfume, and a rolled-up newspaper with a tightly curled red ribbon wrapped around it. She handed me the flowers and newspaper, smiled, and said, “I am sorry but this is all I have to spare, but I want to give you these gifts so God will be happy and I will be filled with love.”
Then she turned around and waddled away while I muttered, “Thank you.”
I soon realized that this rolled-up newspaper seemed a bit heavy for the Wichita Eagle newspaper. It had a ribbon on it, so I assumed it was a gift. I slid the ribbon down the paper, unrolled it, and found two small (individual) cans of green beans!
At the age of sixteen, I didn’t really connect to this gift of “beans.” Honestly, I thought she was just plain crazy! When I grew older, I realized that God’s love poured from her heart that day. This eccentric old widow had given my family so much more than “two little cans of beans.” She had given us food to nourish my family and to feed her soul. She had given us more than all the others who had been so generous. And her sacrifice had surely pleased God.
Occasionally, when I open a can of green beans, I think of Mrs. Deming. Each time, my heart is filled with love and I smile.
Quote for the Day: “It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” — Mother Teresa
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.