God Wants a Relationship With Everyone

Last week is a blur.  Knee deep in the Christmas Store preparations for the 16 site teams we have relationship at and several schools and other various agencies.  With questions like "do we have enough teen gifts for people to shop for", "what happens if we get the snow they are expecting", "do we have enough volunteers", etc. 

Friday,  with the event planning in full swing, I received a frantic call from a woman we have come to know through one of our apartment site teams. I will call her J.  Her cousin actually lives at this apartment, and she visited her a lot. When we met J she and her husband seemed very hesitant about what we were "up to".  It was evident there was little trust.  The cousin, who was the resident, attends our bible study and had become friends with the residents and us.

Over the course of several months, J and her daughter began to trust us and form a relationship with us.   She would come to the apartment every week for homework huddle.  J's cousin brought her to the mission to get some much needed items for her home.

J's call that Friday could not have been at a worse time.  I was all wrapped up in the details of one of our biggest events of the year, and she was asking if I could take her to the bus station.  You see, she had been abused by her husband.  She finally had the courage to escape from him THAT DAY, of all days, and wanted my help. 

He was at work.  She knew when the bus departed from Lawrence which wasn't until later that afternoon, but she needed to leave with her 5 year old and her 9 month old immediately to avoid being there when he returned home.

She had been calling SAFE HOME here in the area every day, several times a day to see if they had an opening in their shelter.  They were full.  At this point, she just needed to go back home.

Because I was completely swamped, I reached out to my friend, Erika.  She graciously agreed to take her to Lawrence that afternoon in the snow storm that had begun.  When they got there, the tickets were completely sold out.  What was this poor, scared young mom to do?  The next bus didn't leave for several days to the area she was wanting to travel to.

I told Erika we could put her and the girls in a motel until that point, but on the way home from Lawrence, Erika's heart just listened to J and to God.  She wanted J and her girls to come stay with Erika and her family. 

Erika brought them home for several days.  She provided support, prayer, and love to J and her girls.  She went above and beyond to the stranger on the side of the road.

We purchased a bus ticket to her home town.  SAFE HOME in her home town had an opening and were willing to hold the room until she arrived. 

During the course of this little detour of time I truly believe J got to see God in her life through Erika and her family.  She was the furthest thing from a believer in God.  She has suffered abuse for some time now.  How could a God of love allow her to go through all that she had gone through.

After purchasing the bus ticket we realized that it was a 3 day trip including an overnight in Joplin and Amarillo.  How could she manage financially and physically to find places to stay in those two strange cities.  Many people Erika and I reached out to were willing to show J hospitality.  We found a couple in Joplin who picked she and the girls up and let them stay the evening in their home and returned them to the bus station the next day.  But the greatest of these was through a friend Erika got in contact with a woman from a Pregnancy Crisis Center in Amarillo.  After some time on the phone, This woman, a friend of a friend, a Christian woman, agreed to pick J up at the bus stop in Amarillo, buy her any supplies she needed, let her stay at their shelter, and even ship items from Wal-mart to her at her destination.  You see, not only was J traveling with her two young girls, she was pregnant. 

Once J arrived at her destination, she was retrieved by SAFE HOME safely. 

During the course of this journey, J would text me.  When she arrived in Joplin it was, " Hi Amy, I made it to Joplin and the man was very nice to me and the girls.  Thank you again, I will keep you updated.  It was a blessing meeting you.  I will never forget you."

Then during the next day's trip she sends this text. "Thank you so much for everything.  I believe God sent you and Erika into my life.  He really does work in mysterious ways and he is a good God"

When she made it to her next stop, she texted again saying she made it.  I said, "Praise God.  You are almost home".  She commented, " Yes!  Praying is what God wanted me to do this whole time and rely on HIM". 

Erika and I take turns checking in with this woman.  Sending her encouragement.  Sending her scripture.  Just remaining in relationship with her.  We truly desire to see God do an amazing work in her life.  J was always humbled and amazed at how everything fell into place.  How HOPE and HELP are possible when you turn to God.  Sometimes when we ask for help, God gives us hope; not because its different, but because it's the same. 

So that blizzardy day when I was wrapped up in the STUFF, the EVENTS, the REAL thing that God wanted me to focus on was loving my neighbor.  I am blessed beyond belief at how He knows what we need and how he put Erika in the middle of this whole experience.  That early morning at 5:30 a.m. when I left them at the bus stop, I needed to rely on God just as much as J had learned to over the last week.  This was someone I had grown to love.  This picture above drawn weeks before this whole experience by her sweet sweet 5 year old, will forever hold a place in my heart.