Offer what little you have. It may be just enough.

Bill Wilson, home after a hard day laying brick in 1951

William J. “Bill” Wilson was a man who truly lived the principles he taught to the young people in his Sunday school class.  I know because I was one of his students long before I was his daughter-in-law.

When Bill could no longer lay brick because of a back injury, he and his wife, Carol, opened a small business and sold fireplace equipment.  They had become acquainted with a local stockbroker and his family through their mutual interest in antiques and collectibles.  The stockbroker lost his job and fell on hard times.  Business at the fireplace shop wasn’t exactly booming, but the bills were always paid on time.  Learning of the stockbroker’s plight, Bill asked him if he would like to work at the fireplace shop.  Bill told the stockbroker it would be manual labor for a wage nothing like the salary the man was accustomed to, but it was the best Bill had to offer.  The stockbroker thanked him, but declined.

Sometime later, when the stockbroker had gotten back on his feet, he told Bill that though he didn’t take the job, Bill’s offer had saved his life.  You see, he was planning to commit suicide, but the genuine concern Bill showed for him had changed his mind.