THE CRUSHED BOWL OF A HOMELESS WOMAN

It was a cold water, and the barren steel frame of the Church building stood erect on that huge, open, plain.  The concrete basement floor of the building was cold, but the people from the Church gathered by the thousands to fast and to pray for the Church and for me saying things like:

"God! Help us; help our Church!"

"God! Remember our Pastor; give him strength!"

"God! Help us realize our dream of building the Church!"

Finally, God began to move.  He had heard our desperate pleas.  A woman from the congregation sold her long hair to a wig shop and gave the money as an offering.  I was deeply moved by her gesture.  Then during a service one day, an eighty year old lady approached with tears.  She handed me something and said, "Pastor! I want to help.  But I have no money.  All I have is this bowl and a spoon.  I want to offer these to God.

"If this is the only bowl and spoon you have, how are you going to eat afterwards? I cannot accept them." I said.

"It is all right," she replied.  "I can place the rice and other food on a strawboard and use my fingers to eat."  I was deeply moved and hurt at the same time.  "Would God not accept these worthless things from me?" she asked.  "I know these will not help or mean much, but I really want to offer something to God."

Just then a businessman from the congregation rose up and said, "Pastor, I'll buy those from you."  He then paid the Church $12000 for the old woman's rice bowl and spoon.  Whenever I think back to those days, I still think about that old woman and long to see her.  That was a breakthrough event that changed the course of the Church construction.  God's calculations - unfathomable from human thinking- awaited us. 

*This story was taken from Pastor David Yonggi Cho's (Korea) book 'Ministering Hope for 50 Years.