A Big Heart

Let every man give according to the purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver.     ~ 2 Corinthians 9:7

I have shared before that the Community Computer Lab offers a unique opportunity to offer ministry.  When I say unique, I mean that in two ways: 1) we are able to meet people at a point of need in their lives that a Sunday morning service cannot; 2) we are able to meet people from the community that we would never have an opportunity to meet and share with otherwise.There is a family who has begun coming to the Community Computer Lab on a regular basis.  For this article, I will refer to them as Mary and Kevin. (As Dragnet used to say, “The names have been changed to protect the innocent”)  They are wonderful clients to have.  As the lab closes, they stay afterwards and help to put the equipment away.  They have a tremendously giving spirit which is beautiful to witness. 

When we first met them, Kevin had a brand new tablet and wanted instructions on how to use it.  We provided that and helped him load software and videos onto the tablet so he could enjoy them throughout the week.  Unfortunately, as many of us who have children have experienced, technology is easily broken. Kevin stepped on the tablet and cracked the screen.  To fix it was going to cost too much money.  I have experienced many times in my life that sometimes “things just work out.”  Such was the case here.  I was talking to my mom that weekend and she mentioned she had a tablet that worked fine, but didn’t work well for her.  I’ll gently say that the tablet and my mother were incompatible.  Anyway, she had boxed it up and was going to get rid of it.  I told her of our need at the lab and she said she would donate it to this family.

The next Tuesday, I was able to provide them with a new, used tablet.  Kevin was overjoyed to get it and to have his videos loaded again.  He knew it was a donation but wanted to pay back as best he could.  Kevin intricately colors pictures and frequently carries them with him.  He had a stack that night and wanted to give them all to me.  I suggested I would select 6 of them, one for each member of my family.  He was happy with this arrangement, but then added a beautiful wrinkle to it.  He told me, “Make sure you pick one out for your mom too.”  Kevin has never met my mom.  That didn’t matter.  He wanted to thank her for the tablet.  In that moment, he showed me the size of his heart.

The Community Computer Lab offers a unique opportunity to offer ministry.  Many times, the ministry is offered not by the church, but by the community itself.

~ Pastor Richard Cole