Friday, November 5, 2010

Worth Much More than 45 Cents…

I have to admit that I’ve never written a story about money given to Mercy Ministries that has been less than one dollar, but this 45 cent gift is priceless. I hope your heart is as touched as mine as you read a letter I just received from one of our graduates passing on a gift to Mercy Ministries of 45 cents….


Dear Nancy and Mercy Ministries Staff,

It may seem odd to you that I have mailed this 45 cents in the mail. It seems like such an insignificant amount of money compared to the thousands and millions of dollars needed to run such an amazing ministry. But there is a story behind these nine coins that has value treasured way above any million dollar gift that could be given.

A couple of weeks ago I held a yard sale at my house to benefit Mercy Ministries through Run for Mercy. This is a miracle in itself because all the items for the sale were donated by my mother and grandmother. It was entirely their idea to raise money for Mercy. That in itself brought tears to my eyes!

On that Friday afternoon everything was set up and things were going well when I got a tap on my hip. It was my eight year old neighbor, Gavin (pictured below). I have been babysitting Gavin since he was a year old and he has always displayed a very giving heart, but my heart was not prepared for what he was about to do. Gavin asked me why I was doing the yard sale. I spent a couple minutes explaining in third grade terms what Mercy Ministries is and what it does. There was a long awkward pause and I just knew it was because he couldn’t fully understand it. Without a word, he darted off to his house and I resumed my yard sale. About two minutes later, there stood Gavin in front of me with his hand clinched around something. He extended his hand up to me and opened it. There sat these nine little coins, all totaling 45 cents. He very graciously said, “This is all I have, but I want Mercy to have it.” As he dropped those nine coins into my donation box my heart exploded into a million pieces. That little boy, Gavin, has a heart of gold. There can be no earthly value placed on these coins because these coins contain his heart. We raised $305 for Run for Mercy through this yard sale, but not a dime of it is worth as much as those nine coins.

I have learned a lot through that eight year old and I hope it touched your heart as much as it did mine.

God bless you and God bless Mercy Ministries!

Love,

Lauren


Lauren's neighbor, Gavin

A special thanks to Gavin for having a heart much bigger than many people have ever had. Thanks Lauren for sharing the joy and for having a garage sale to help other girls get the same help that you yourself received.

4 comments:

brandon said...

Reminds me of the widows mite in Luke 21:1-4 She gave everything she had.

Ali Davis said...

that precious face, and gavin's willingness to give all he had to help the mercy girls, made me cry. God will reward his giving heart!

Michelle :) said...

yesssss! love it

Ashley Jean said...

AMAZING STORY! What a special little guy, God will bless him big-time!