Reverend Thomas stepped from behind the pulpit. He told them about a woman from a church he had served many years earlier. Her name was Ruth. She was widowed, retired, and lived on a fixed income. She had once told him she regretted that she could not give large donations to the ministries she cared about.

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“One winter,” he continued, “a young mother in that congregation was going through an extraordinarily difficult season. Her husband had left. She was working. She had children. She was exhausted. Ruth could not pay that woman’s mortgage. She could not fix every circumstance in her life.”

 

He paused.

 

“Ruth made supper every Thursday.”

 

A few smiles appeared throughout the congregation.

 

“Every Thursday for six months, she brought that family a meal. Sometimes soup. Sometimes a casserole. Sometimes enough food for two nights. And when I once told Ruth how much that meant, she said, ‘Pastor, I couldn’t do everything. But I could do Thursday.’”