I'm enjoying conversation with friends and family in the wide foyer at church on Sunday. The back of my neck glowing like Rudolph's nose from a weekend of yard work. Its radiant heat warms my daughter's icy fingers. I grab Mollie's hands, swing her around, hug her, and then shoo her into the sanctuary. Mollie skips off to safeguard our assigned seats. A group of us continue laughing and chatting, having a wonderful time of fellowship.
I slurp the last of my coffee and feel a tapping on my back. So I turn. A precious daughter of the King stands beside her mother, holding mom's hand and looking up at me. The child's hair is neatly brushed behind her ears. Straying strands of her sandy brown hair tickle one cheek, and a white dress hangs softly from her tiny frame. Her mother says, "She wanted to give this to the cafe."
The girl is quiet but smiles shyly and hands me an oversized envelope.
"Thank you," I say bending over to receive it. "This is so kind of you."
Written carefully in black ink are the words: Cafe 41:11.
"Thank you so much!" I say again.
The mother and child walk away hand-in-hand to visit with someone else. I place the envelope in my Bible and walk into the sanctuary for worship. When the service ends, my family jumps in the car for home. The ladies of the house heat leftovers for lunch and munch on pickles in a contest to see who can crunch the loudest. (They know how loud eating annoys me and yet they do it intentionally. OOOH!) I quickly exit the kitchen as they laugh and then plop in my office chair. I pull the envelope from my Bible and peel it open.
Nestled inside are four one dollar bills.
I sit, totally humbled by her kindness, thinking, WOW!
This child of the King, gave to her King. Her faith in Jesus expressed in a childlike love for Him, and His work at the cafe, is greater than the faith and love of some adults I know. It's not the amount that matters. It's the faith and love accompanying the gift.
And boy...how she believes. And man...the way she loves.
Do you?
Do I?
This encounter got me thinking about faith and love. Here's what I was reminded of:
The Apostle Paul wrote, "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" (NIV, Galatians 5:6). This truth didn't originate with Paul. He learned it from Jesus. And we can be on the receiving end of faith expressed through love, or be the giver of it, or we can reject it.
I was privileged to be on the receiving end yesterday. But at the cafe tomorrow? I'm going to give it.