The dollar in my Bible

Many months ago, our pastor came up with a novel idea to encourage our members to reach out and engage people. As a mechanism to set this idea in motion, one Sunday morning everyone who came into the church was given a single dollar bill to use in their own way to engage another person. The pastor asked only that each person send him an email and tell him how they used the dollar. To my knowledge we’ve never really heard how many emails he received. Although he received some, I must confess that have not sent that email yet. My dollar remains to this day in my Bible in the same state it was when it was given to me.

When I was handed the dollar bill on that Sunday morning, it was slipped in between the pages of my Bible while I considered how I might make best use of it. Quite honestly, I found it quite difficult to come up with an idea for one single dollar. However, it wasn’t long after that, I had opportunity to buy lunch and visit with some Muslim colleagues at school to discuss matters of faith. Of course, a dollar won’t buy lunch, so, I paid for the meal and just held on to the dollar. Then, soon after that I met someone who had run out of food and was out of work. We went to the grocery store and since the dollar wouldn’t cover the bill, after paying for the groceries, I kept my dollar in my Bible. Some weeks later, a hitch-hiker along the side of the road became my passenger. After a brief conversation, it became clear he was in a tough spot. The dollar wouldn’t do him any good either, but I was able to buy his lunch and slip him a twenty before dropping him off at the on-ramp to the interstate. Over the months, that dollar has become a tank of gas, a jacket, maternity clothing, a bed, and toys for children in need.

While I waited for that truly creative idea that would come to mind to celebrate in the use of my dollar, it never really came and I’ve stopped looking for it. What I found instead was opportunity after opportunity to aid and serve those whose needs are greater than mine. It is unlikely I will ever spend that dollar. Each time I open my Bible that "one dollar bookmark" stands as an ongoing reminder of needs to be filled and others to be served.