She Hath Done What She Could

Mark 14:8 “She hath done what she could…”; Mark 12:42,43 “…this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury…she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”

“Ummmm!” There is nothing that smells and tastes as good as a freshly brewed cup of java…especially if the beans are ground fresh. My husband Brant and I have had coffee in many places as we have traveled overseas and in America. We are willing to try almost any coffee that is offered to us.

One of the most priceless cups of coffee we have ever had we received in a most unlikely spot. The date was October 23, 2000. With the Baptist International Missions team of eight others, Brant and I were privileged to take at least 10,000 Armenian New Testaments to the country of Armenia.

The Bible verses quoted above come to my mind when I remember our special cup of coffee. After arriving in the country, our bus driver took us several miles outside the capital of Yerevan to a snow-covered area that was the devastated town of Spitak. On December 7, 1988, an earthquake destroyed the entire town of Spitak, killing more than 20,000 people in minutes. Since the building infrastructures were so unstable before the quake even came, the people in them had no opportunity to escape during the earthquake.

As we drove over the snowy mountains towards Spitak and stopped along a ridge, we could see acres of tombstones. On the stones, which rose above the snow, there were full-sized etchings of people – men, women, and children – whose death dates were all December 7, 1988. The dark, granite stones and the snow gave a feeling to our whole team of deep sadness.

But we were on an important mission.  Hundreds of displaced people were living in the huge metal containers that carried the aid sent to Armenia by over one hundred countries. Doors and windows had been cut in the sides of the containers and curtains hung. The Armenians had done their best to make homes out of almost nothing. When our bus stopped, people poured out to greet us. As our team went from container to container giving out Armenian Bibles, we were greeted with hugs and kisses on both cheeks. Many had never seen a Bible before. We were giving them LIFE.

After spending several hours with the people of Spitak, walking from home to home, we were loading up the bus when someone said: “Look!” Down the snowy, dirt road came an Armenian woman carrying a tray with cups on it. We welcomed her onto our bus. There were four coffee cups - chipped and stained - filled with coffee. She had probably brewed those grounds many times, and the “extra layer” on the top we would have discarded in any other place.  But SHE DID WHAT SHE COULD…SHE GAVE ALL THAT SHE HAD! All ten of us graciously passed the cups around, sipped the coffee, and conveyed our thanks to a lady who did not understand our language but could see our love for her by our actions.  We know that the Bible we left with her will show her the way to eternal life. How wonderful if one day she greets us in Heaven – what a priceless cup of coffee! Let’s make sure we “have done what we can…given all that we have” for others and for the cause of Christ.   

(Maylou Holladay)