"Pure and undefiled religion before God is this: to visit oprhans and widows in their trouble..." James 1:27
I remember it like it was yesterday. The day my husband had an intervention with me and told me the time had come for us to take down the baby bed. We had three children all in a row over the course of 6 years, and during that time, we just consistently had a baby in a nursery. How I loved those happy years! The sweet baby sounds, the happy nursery smells of baby shampoos and lotions, the pitter patter of little feet in footy pajamas running across our hardwood floors. I remember each of them sleeping so sweetly in that crib, the contented sighs of baby sleep. I used to just stand there in the dark watching them breathe, loving them so much my heart hurt. In so many ways, those were magical years in our home.
Then, one day, we turned around and our baby was three. He was too big to fit in that baby bed anymore, and after a complicated third pregnancy, we knew we were done having children. I was in major denial. For me, taking that bed down was symbolic of a chapter closing, and it was such a happy chapter I didn't want it to end. But, end it did, and the bed came down, life moved on, and now we are in another happy chapter of little league, school parties, sleepovers, and prime time kid years. What a fun, busy, crazy chapter this one is, too!
This week, the Mission Athens team was blessed to meet to precious children, a very funny and friendly 7-year-old boy and a precious baby 1-year-old girl, who are going to have to live with their grandparents for a while. Unfortunately, their parents are unable to care for them for the time being. You can imagine that this situation is incredibly stressful for all involved. The grandparents love these children, but they were not equipped with all the necessities it takes to care for a baby and her big brother. A very special family at Central donated their son's baby bed to this family, and the Mission Athens team provided bedding, a few toys for the kids, food, diapers, wipes, and several items to help this family get started in this new chapter of their lives.
Also this week, members of the Mission Athens team had the opportunity to participate in the first Pack and Pray day for the Full Tummy Project group. This is the group of moms here in town who provide food bags for kids in our elementary schools who may not have enough to eat on the weekends. You can learn more about this organization by clicking on the link to their website here on our blog. As part of that day, we were blessed to work together and take some of the donated items that would not work for the backpack program--large boxes of cereal, canned goods without pop tops, etc. Our goal was to donate it to LCCI or get it to people who needed it. Within just a few hours, we received phone calls about kids and their families who needed food to make it through the rest of the week. In just one day, a member of our team was able to distribute this food to hungry kids and their families. God is so good.
God saved the best blessing for last this week. A member of our team was visiting her daughter in Hendersonville, TN. Her daughter has a co-worker who was crying at her desk. When her daughter asked her what was wrong, she discovered that this poor woman has 3 children and her husband had recently lost her job. They were struggling to make ends meet, and she did not have enough food to feed her growing kids.
Our Mission Athens teammate sent an email to us asking if we knew anyone in Hendersonville. Guess who's sister lives right there and attends a church waiting to meet the needs of those hurting in her community?? That's right, the same big sister who taught me to read taught me another great lesson this week. She dropped everything she was doing and went to visit and help out. Now, this woman knows that there are Christians all over the place who are willing to help her. Her immediate needs have been taken care of, and my sister's church has plans to help them through the holidays as well.
As we reflect on the week's work, we hope a new chapter is beginning in each of these precious lives. We pray that the sweet kids who are living with their grandparents will know the love of Jesus as demonstrated by the strangers who brought them a baby bed, warm blankets, some toys and food. We pray that the hungry souls who were nourished this week with food donations will learn that Jesus fills us up in ways that food cannot and that true manna comes from above. And, finally, we pray that this special family in Tennessee whom we will never meet will feel the comfort of the prayers being offered up for them from the Mission Athens team, and that God will supply everything they need for the next chapter of their lives together. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.
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