Changes in My Neck of the Woods

It’s been hard for me to write on my blog or read them lately. Last Tuesday, we invited a single mom and her three teens to move in. They were living in temporary housing in a ministry cabin. Homeless pretty much. Both my husband and I felt led to open up our home and our hearts. Our teenage sons are best friends.

So, let’s just say it’s been a busy week. Making room for them. Removing my huge desk and stacks of books from my former office and turning it into a bedroom. Writing articles on deadline. Going to a women’s high tea with my daughter on Saturday. And to top this off, I caught a cold. So now I am weak and under the weather.

What’s cool about this change is God prepared my heart prior to this happening. He used books I read like Red Letters and certain portions of his Word. The verse from Luke 10:27 spoke the loudest: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'”

He gave me a picture of my street being nice on one side and desolate on the other. Dying and hurting people. No trees. No grass. No houses. Only brown dirt. Will I close my garage door behind me, close my blinds, and ignore the hurting world right in front of me?

What about the knowledge of a family being homeless? Say I’ll pray like I’ve done before? Or will I be the hands and feet of Jesus and respond?

This is the first time Derek and I have done something like this. God gets all the credit. He is working on both of our hearts. He is the one who gives us the desire to help, the strength to love, and the heart to serve. It has to be God, I know how selfish I can be. I won’t speak for Derek.

Is it easy? No. Any major change creates stress. There is less freedom and privacy. But there are sweet new sounds and talents. Songs being played on Hannah’s keyboard. An echoing song coming from a precious voice in the shower. Lots of teens laughing. Having two bathrooms with eight people is interesting. 🙂 Milk runs out faster. So does our patience during meal times or bedtimes when the kids think it’s a big sleep over. But when I think of the millions in Africa who are orphaned and dying without homes or parents, why wouldn’t I share what I have for a season to help a family out? It’s a small thing in the big picture of life. Like Derek told them, “Everything we have belongs to God.” “What’s mine is yours. You are family.”

Our prayer is that God’s glory will be revealed through this situation. We are praying we will all grow through this time. Grow in our ability to love and forgive and change. Grow closer to God.

Please pray for this family. I will leave out the names for privacy. The mom’s name starts with C. She is looking for full-time outside sales. As you know, the job market is soft. She wants to be with her teens in the evenings. I don’t blame her.

The amazing thing is we have already seen our community come together. So far, we’ve been able to give her over $1,000 cash. Two people have brought us yummy dinners and desserts. One also brought us a queen size bed. Another person gave me $100 cash for groceries. My kids did a kool-aid fundraiser.

I am impressed at how God is using the resources of many to help one family.

He is able to do above and beyond what we could ever hope or imagine. Thank you, Lord.