REFLECTIONS
December 13, 2009
 
 
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.
Romans 12:6
 
 
Hole in the Roof
 
Mitch walked into the old building. He found something different about it this time. The building that housed I Am My Brother’s Keeper Ministry was warm and the floor was dry. He was surprised by how much had changed since his first visit there.
Mitch Albom is the journalist who gained national prominence with his bestselling book, Tuesdays with Morrie. His remarkable gift for telling compelling stories produced a bestseller that surely impacted his life. The greatest impact was likely from the lessons his subject taught. One was a greater concern for people—especially the homeless. That’s what had led him to the old building the first time.
On that occasion, he entered with suspicion. He heard about a shelter for the homeless there, but he wanted to see it before committing funds from the charity he had formed. Maybe he didn’t know what to expect, but he did not like what he found.
The inside of the building was dirty and in disrepair. A hole in the roof allowed cold and rain to enter freely. Yet Mitch was captivated by the people who found shelter there and curious about the improbable pastor who served them. Pastor Henry Covington looked very little like a pastor. He was quite tall but his extraordinary height did not provide proportion for the four hundred pound body he carried. But Mitch found a fascination with Pastor Henry, the ministry he had chosen, and the people he served.
Many other visits were prompted over the years that followed—years that took their toll on the old building. Hard times also fell, and so did operating funds. There was not enough money to pay heating bills let alone to repair the hole in the roof. The old building became cold and the hole in the roof became larger. Financial demands were more than Mitch could provide through his charity. But Mitch saw the good done by a pastor with a heart for God. He decided to write about it. It would be his greatest gift.
His column published in the local paper told the story of Pastor Henry, the ministry to the homeless, and the financial trials confronting it. He told a compelling story. That’s what Mitch does best. And on his next trip there, amazing things had happened. The building was warm and the floor was dry.
Most of us can’t write compelling stories like Mitch Albom; but we all have something we do better than anything else. It is the gift God gave us.
And when we use it, amazing things will happen.
 
“You are the light of the world.”
RichardÌ
 

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