I won’t pretend I know Louise, I won’t even tell you that we’re casual acquaintances. I’ve only met her once, and that one encounter lasted for all of three seconds. But those three seconds left me feeling an indescribable sense of joy. Let me tell you the story.

Each Sunday as my partner and I walk into church, we commonly pass several checkpoints of ‘greeters’. These greeters are church leaders and volunteers who choose to serve God by trying to make people feel welcome as they come to church. It’s a nice idea, but to an introvert such as myself, this forced (and typically unnecessary) human interaction sometimes feels…awkward. Last Sunday, we entered the church and passed the first couple of greeters who were (to my relief) engaged in deep conversation with another churchgoer. As we climbed the stairs and passed through the sliding doors to enter into the main foyer area, we were enthusiastically greeted by one of the worship leaders who was standing by the door eagerly awaiting more people to greet. I 'graciously' smiled and nodded while murmuring something along the lines of ‘Hi’ back to him. That’s when I saw her. Actually, I almost walked right by her; I had to do a double take to confirm what I saw in my peripheral vision. Sitting contortedly in a full body, motorized wheel chair was this small disabled woman. If you forced me to make a spot diagnosis, I would guess that she had a severe form of cerebral palsy. She was looking at me with her eyes wide, and she had a large smile on her face. Attached to the front of her wheel chair was a sign that read: “Hi, I’m Louise. Welcome to church!” My heart melted and I didn’t know why. I turned around and smiled back, beaming at her stupidly.

For the rest of that night, I kept thinking about her. I couldn’t help but feel I had seen and experienced something in my heart that was significant. I felt that there was something about Louise that pointed to a larger divine truth. The answer came in the form of a story from the Bible, from the gospel of Mark chapter 12 and verses 41-44:

Sitting across from the offering box, Jesus was observing how the crowd tossed money in for the collection. Many of the rich were making large contributions. One poor widow came up and put in two small coins—a measly two cents. Jesus called his disciples over and said, “The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all.” (Message Translation)

In the midst of the traditional religious practice of tithing, as crowds lined up to deposit the allotted amount they had ready in their hands, to make their weekly transaction with God, Jesus saw something special. It wasn’t the occasional fortune that was piled ceremoniously by the wealthy aristocrat, bureaucrat or Pharisee. The special thing that Jesus saw, that touched Him, was a poor widowed woman throw in two cents. This moved Him so much that He called His friends over and told them the story. Mark and Luke in turn recorded this story and Jesus’ comments, and now, over 2000 years later, this poor widow and her two cents continue to leave an indelible mark on our souls.

There is something profoundly beautiful about coming to God in all of our frailty, with all of our weaknesses and shortcomings and giving everything to Him. A poor widowed woman tithing literally nothing of value meant the world to God - the beauty of her heart as she gave spoke volumes to her Heavenly Father. You see, God does not measure by earthly standards and quantity cannot impress The One who created all things. What does move and impress God is the stature of our hearts as we surrender everything, big and small, to Him. And as we surrender everything, our hearts are aligned to His. When our hearts align, He smiles with joy, He lifts us up and celebrates us, He showers us with His affection and causes us to be a blessing to others. This poor widowed woman knew of God’s extravagant generosity and out of that knowledge and her love for Him, she in turn gave extravagantly back to her Heavenly Father.

Of all the potential roles of ministry someone might take up, you and I may view ‘greeters’ as the least important or even as entirely unnecessary. We may view it as two cents thrown into the large collective offering box, while others pile in the dollars; a mere raindrop in the ocean. But I bet Louise sees things differently.  Louise may not have a voice to sing worship up on a stage or to preach to a crowd of people. She may not have the dexterity it takes to play with and teach the children in kids church or to help set up the auditorium before a Sunday service. But what Louise does have is a beautiful smile and the love of her Heavenly Father in her heart. So for Louise, it’s a no brainer that she volunteers to welcome people as they enter into church. She wants to give people like me a glimpse of God’s love and delight as we choose to enter a place that is dedicated to Him. She wants to let God use any and every part of her for His glory and His delight. In a world where someone like Louise might be viewed as having nothing to offer society, or someone to be pitied and felt sorry for, Louise found the truth. The truth that she is immeasurably valuable to her Heavenly Father and she has unlimited potential in His eyes. The truth, that in her weakness, His strength shines. The truth, that her two cents is more precious and meaningful to Him than a sea of empty riches.

So Louise chipped in her two cents last Sunday and as she surrendered to God, offering up whatever she had to serve Him, her heart was aligned with His and I saw Christ shining through her. I smiled with joy just as I knew our Heavenly Father was smiling. I knew He celebrated Louise and the way she chose to serve Him. I knew that He showered her with His love and worth and He had treasures waiting for her in her eternal home. And I experienced the blessing that she was; the blessing that God had made her become. So much so, that all this time later, I still can’t help but thank God for her, and share her example with others. To share the testimony of her beautiful, surrendered, Christ-like heart, and how she really, truly, legitimately, made me feel welcome.