Months ago he was a mess. He was an older middle aged man, a bust out, definitely not a Christian, suicidal, broke, and all but homeless. Through some strange circumstances he ended up at a local community church one Sunday, perhaps even wondering what he was doing there. Fortunately, he was able to talk to the pastor for a while between services, and as a result of that conversation found himself visiting a men's small group the following Wednesday evening.
Over the months since that time, he kept coming back....to church, and to the small group. And the guys in the group just kept loving him for who he was....a lost child of God. The men in the group kept on being themselves....transparent and caring. Over time they could notice a change taking place in the man. He smiled more. He opened up more. He started to give indications of his like for the group and his uncertainties about himself. He started to sit with some of the guys in church instead of sitting by himself.
At a recent meeting he was all smiles. His heart had talked to him. He had run across someone who was throwing out a little girls bike, one that was in like new condition. He talked about how he just knew that somewhere there was a little girl without a bike that would love to get this one and asked if the guys would keep their eyes open so that the bike could get to the girl in need. One might think "it's just a bike." The guys thought differently though. They thought, "look at this guys heart...it is softening up."
Wonderfully, the following Sunday the guy took communion for the first time, and talked about it afterwards.
Bottom Line Thought: Sometimes it's the little things that lead to great stories. Little things like "it's just a bike." Perhaps if his heart hadn't begun to soften he may have looked at the bike the other guy was tossing and said the same thing..."it's just a bike." How many times do we miss a little thing, only to never know what great story may have come out of it?
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