Happy Fathers Day! Throughout our childhood and into adulthood, many of us have seen our dads as someone who is capable of doing many things. Porch swing need installed? He is the right guy for the job. Yard need mowed? We happen to have our own in-house landscaper. All of this is done in addition to hours of work to provide for our families. This week, I learned that my dad is also a writer. I am honored to have my dad be my first guest writer for this blog, and would be even more honored if you took the chance to read some of his wise words.
Hello, I am Joshua’s father, Michael. Anyone who knows me is aware that I am proud of my boys. This is an exciting time as Matthew, Joshua’s little brother, prepares to start college this fall and Joshua is about to start this adventure called “The World Race”. Joshua will be traveling with a team of 6 young adults called “Fearless Love”. They are part of a group of 40 called “G Squad”. They will be traveling to 11 countries in 11 months.
As long as Joshua can remember, I have sold frozen pizzas. I drive a big truck from store to store to deliver and stock pizzas. Currently I mainly sell to grocery stores. Years ago, we sold them anywhere we could. This included convenience stores, bars, bowling alleys, skating rinks, and even a beach.
The story I want to share with you today took place years ago when I was making a delivery to a convenience store. As I recall, it was one of those days that I was running behind schedule. I had a lot of stops to make that day and knew that I needed to keep moving. I had already pulled the order from my truck and had them in the store to get them checked in. Before I stock the pizzas to the shelf, I need to have a store employee verify the order and sign the invoice so we can get paid.
On this day, the only person that was working was the manager. He was running the cash register and had long line of people waiting. I knew I was going to have to wait until he was done before he would be able to help me.
Just about the time the line was finished a young boy came in the door. He looked like he might have been 6 or 7 years old. He clearly knew where he was going: he headed right to the toy rack. He quickly picked out what he was after. He held in his hand a plastic toy that looked like a Bible; it was a combination bank, flashlight and key chain.
When he got to the cash register, he was next in line. The manager told him how much he owed the little boy dumped a sock full of change onto the counter. As the manager counted thru the coins, mostly pennies, I stood and waited. When they had finished counting, he found out that he was sixteen cents short. Mostly motivated by trying to speed things up, I reached into my pocket and gave the boy sixteen cents. I thought he may say thank you, but what he said caught me totally off guard. He walked over to me and looked up me with his big brown eyes and said, “Mister, you are my hero”. I did not know what to say. Here I was, worried about getting done and a small gift of sixteen cents meant so much to the little boy.
One of my favorite Bible stories is the story of the 2 cent offering:
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.” – Mark 12:41-44
This is a great story of faith as this unnamed lady gave all she had. She had enough faith in God to provide that she gave Him everything. But I believe there is another story to be told. We don’t know how the 2 cents were used by God; the Bible does not tell us. But, we do know how God used the story. This passage of scripture has been used many, many times to motivate people to give. It has encouraged people to give more to their church. It has encouraged people to have the faith to support, church camps, missionaries, open Christian colleges and hospitals. The 2 cents that the poor widow gave may have motivated more people to have the faith to share their gifts than any other person ever. How is that for getting your “2 cents worth”?
Will you give my son sixteen cents? It is my hope that the story I shared will motivate you to support Joshua as he travels to 11 countries in 11 months. Giving him sixteen cents will tell him that you believe that God can use your gift, no matter its size. It will also say I am not giving simply to send Joshua on a trip, but that you believe that God will use him for great things. It says “Joshua, I can’t travel around the world sharing the Great News of Jesus, but I have faith that God will use this gift to send you”.
The truth is, Joshua will need donations of all sizes. You can be creative; maybe you could give $16.16 or $116.16. You might be that person that could give $1616.16 towards this ministry. Maybe you have already given. If so, next time you see Joshua, walk up and give him sixteen cents. He will know what it means. Or maybe you are thinking of donating again.
The next year is going to be so exciting for Joshua and all of us back here at home as we hear the stories of how God is working through him and team “Fearless Love”!!!!!!!! Please keep them in your prayers. May God bless you.
If my dad’s post inspired you to partner with me financially, I would like to say thank you! To give a gift, please feel free to click the “Support Me!” link on the left side of the page. For additional giving options, please click here!
Thank you so much and have a great Fathers Day!
