People Matter - by Michael Dascoli

Have you ever lived through a personal or family crisis? Can you recall a time when someone(s) stepped in at just the right moment and did something so practical that it seemed to shout, “You are not alone! You matter! We are (I am) here for you”? If you answered yes to any of those questions, can you relate when I say, “Those are life-giving moments”? It’s as if you’re dying of thirst when someone offers you a glass of cool water. Or, you feel like you’re suffocating and someone breathes fresh oxygen into your system.

I remember a time when I was a child that my dad had a heart attack. Our family was already living below the poverty line. Now dad, who was our sole provider, couldn’t work. Oh, the thoughts that raced through my seven-year-old mind as stress in our home was so thick you could cut it with a knife. “Will dad live? What will happen to us should he die? Will Christmas be a sad affair?”

Then, one evening, a group of my dad’s buddies showed up unexpectedly at our front door. They seemed a bit awkward: the tone somber and intimidating. Turned out they were only trying to be sensitive to our family’s disposition. Then one of them said, “The guys at the bar wanted to do something to help with your needs. Please don’t be offended. We took a collection.” At that point, he handed my mom an envelope stuffed with cash totaling more than $300. It might as well have been a million. Suddenly there were tears, expressions of gratitude and even some eruptions of laughter and joy. It gave the sense, “Things are going to be okay. You are not alone. You will get through this”.   

Several years later, one of my school buddies and his dad helped me buy my first car. It had a small oil leak, but they were convinced it would be no big deal. Turned out the car would need a new engine. Can you believe my friend and his dad helped me rebuild that engine? That was just one of many kindnesses and investments they made in my life. And it wasn’t just me. Seems they were willing magnets reaching out to many less-fortunate young people like myself.

One day I said to my buddy and his dad, “How can I ever repay you.” Their response only escalated my understanding of the kind of people they are, “Mikey, someday you will have the opportunity to help someone else. All we ask is that you do the same for them as we have done for you.”

In the midst of the residual effects created by this Corona virus, when I see Summit Church doing everything it can to meet the needs of individuals and businesses, I see the same kind of heart that was so life-giving to me in some very crucial moments. All if this sends one message, “People Matter!”

“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good

works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” -Jesus

By Pastor Michael Dasoli