Giving When It Hurts
Luke 21:1-4
“And He [Jesus] looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, ‘Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”
What do you do when someone with so little tries to honor you and give you so much?
This is often my experience with the women here in Uganda. Though they are poor, sickly and struggling to survive, they show love and kindness that humbles and amazes me.
Several weeks ago, our team went for a home visit. There’s an old widow named Manjiri who comes to our weekly Bible study fellowship faithfully. She broke her hip about a year ago and has been limping and walking a far distance with a wooden crutch to get to the fellowship. We brought her to a clinic in town to see if there’s anything that can be done, and they advised us that she needs to eat a lot of green vegetables and a balanced diet so that her bone can grow back well.
That’s easier said than done for her, but we help where we can and she works hard (even with a broken hip) planting crops to eat and sell.
When we went to visit her, we wanted to give her a solar audio Bible that a friend gave me to hand out. I thought she would be the perfect candidate, because her eyes are getting weaker and she is so hungry for the Word of God.
When we arrived there, we found about 10 children. She takes care of most of them alone in her home, and others were neighbors who were hanging around. We shared some encouragement with them and they responded well.
We learned that she has a husband who is alive but left her for another family seven years ago and has not supported her since. She has seven grandchildren living with her that she takes care of.
After sharing, we told her that we had to go to Bible study and she told us to wait a minute. She had a meal prepared for us to bless us. They gave us millet “bread” and chicken stew. They took one of their own chickens to bless us.
This old woman, who is a widow taking care of all of these children alone, went out of her way to bless us. She has nothing, but she gave me everything. On top of that, she brought me a whole basin full of tomatoes fresh from her garden.
To say I was humbled would be an understatement.
I wanted to say no and instead give her what I had, but it would have hurt her deeply. Instead, I prayed that God would multiply back to her more than she could even ask or imagine.
As it’s been said:
We can never out-give God.
This is something that He has shown me over and over again to be true. Interestingly, the most generous people I have met in my travels around the world are the poorest and most destitute. They give when it sometimes means they will go hungry or lack.
They give until it hurts.
I want to challenge the rest of us ladies to give generously and love deeply. Give until it hurts, give to those who minister to you and those who are in need around you. Do it secretly when possible. Do it for Jesus. (See Matthew 25:40.) God will bless you more than you can imagine.
Hi, my name is Erica and I am a God-called missionary for Northern Uganda. It is my passion and life-calling to bring God’s word to the people of the world. Each and every one of us can do our part in spreading God’s word to people in need of Jesus’ healing touch and hope. Trying to figure out if God has called you to the mission field? Do you want to learn more about what it’s like to be a missionary? Check out my book, For the Joy Set Before Us – Insights Into the Missionary Journey today.
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