In December of 2005, I remember sitting in church with my family and worrying. I tried to pray, but my heart was heavy. Mark and I had stopped running our in home day care together, because the chaos was too much for Teale. Her mental instability was escalating and in our day care, it felt unsafe to continue caring for others. Starting over was a tough decision at our age, after all we were financially stable. Running our day care was all we had known in our marriage. Mark and I had married in 1989 and had been working together ever since.
In Fall of 2005, we had made the difficult decision to send Mark back to college to finish his bachelor’s degree. We were hopeful after he graduated, he could secure a decent job to sustain us. I was still caring for a few children, but the huge loss of income was hitting us hard. Mark was working as a paraprofessional in our home district, which paid very little, but at least we had health insurance.
So as I sat in the church service, my mind was filled with worry. We had a huge heating bill to pay and our kids had dreams of waking up Christmas morning to gifts under the tree. How on earth were we going to get through this? Where was money going to fall from so we could could buy our three excited children the gifts they hoped Santa would bring?
There were many people in our church who cared deeply for us, but we were not sharing how difficult things were. Mark and I have always had much faith, but on that Sunday morning, I was not feeling hopeful. Faith had gotten us through many tough times, but this time, I was feeling lost. Mark is often known to say ~ “It will all work out.” But, he doesn’t just say it, he believes it. His faith is strong & he truly believes that so long as we have each other, all else will be ok. His love keeps me going in the toughest of times. We have never gone without basic needs and that in itself is more than most of the world. Mark and I wanted the best for our children, as all parents do. Somehow I had to believe it would all work out & our kids would forget these meager times. I knew the gifts were not the most important part of Christmas. I knew the love of our family would get us through this financial crisis. But, even when you are able to rationalize loss, to gain a better future, it is still a struggle in the moment. The thoughts of how my children would feel on Christmas morning, with not much under the tree, kept floating through my head, so I prayed for peace in my heart.
The service ended and as we turned to exit the sanctuary, a member I didn’t know well, handed me an envelope. It appeared to be a Christmas card & she directed me to open it at home. So I put the card in my purse & we chatted a bit. After we got home, I opened the card. It was a Christmas card. To this day I can still see the picture of a lovely dove holding an olive branch. The word “Peace” in beautiful calligraphy, the irony was not lost on me. I opened the card and there inside was was a folded check, in the memo, the words, Merry Christmas. The amount was enough that I knew I could now buy our children the gifts they dreamt of. I immediately called Jean. I explained how I had been praying in church for a solution to our financial stress. Until receiving her generous gift, we were being forced to choose between paying our heating bill or getting the kids gifts. She had given us the freedom to do both. Our new friend explained that she had prayed too and felt a calling to help us specifically. How overwhelmed I felt, knowing our prayers were heard and also answered.
That week I went shopping, I bought a few gifts for our children and something special for our new friend, Jean. Our friendship grew from that day. We would talk on the phone, I would write her cards or letters, we would visit with each other and of course we would chat at church. Jean was an unlikely friend. She had very little patience for children and her family seemed to be sparse. She had been married, but never had children. We became her adopted family and her generosity continued for years to come. Even after we were more financially stable, Jean always gave us a generous gift at Christmas and I would try to find her a gift she would enjoy, usually leaving it, like Santa, at her door.
This past week, our friend, Jean, slipped away from pneumonia. When I received the call, the first vision I had was of a dove and the word, PEACE. Jean was someone God put into our life at a time we truly needed to be reminded of His love. She will always be a reminder that God comes to us in unusual ways. From a stranger, who became a friend, she taught me that faith is real.
In Fall of 2005, we had made the difficult decision to send Mark back to college to finish his bachelor’s degree. We were hopeful after he graduated, he could secure a decent job to sustain us. I was still caring for a few children, but the huge loss of income was hitting us hard. Mark was working as a paraprofessional in our home district, which paid very little, but at least we had health insurance.
So as I sat in the church service, my mind was filled with worry. We had a huge heating bill to pay and our kids had dreams of waking up Christmas morning to gifts under the tree. How on earth were we going to get through this? Where was money going to fall from so we could could buy our three excited children the gifts they hoped Santa would bring?
There were many people in our church who cared deeply for us, but we were not sharing how difficult things were. Mark and I have always had much faith, but on that Sunday morning, I was not feeling hopeful. Faith had gotten us through many tough times, but this time, I was feeling lost. Mark is often known to say ~ “It will all work out.” But, he doesn’t just say it, he believes it. His faith is strong & he truly believes that so long as we have each other, all else will be ok. His love keeps me going in the toughest of times. We have never gone without basic needs and that in itself is more than most of the world. Mark and I wanted the best for our children, as all parents do. Somehow I had to believe it would all work out & our kids would forget these meager times. I knew the gifts were not the most important part of Christmas. I knew the love of our family would get us through this financial crisis. But, even when you are able to rationalize loss, to gain a better future, it is still a struggle in the moment. The thoughts of how my children would feel on Christmas morning, with not much under the tree, kept floating through my head, so I prayed for peace in my heart.
The service ended and as we turned to exit the sanctuary, a member I didn’t know well, handed me an envelope. It appeared to be a Christmas card & she directed me to open it at home. So I put the card in my purse & we chatted a bit. After we got home, I opened the card. It was a Christmas card. To this day I can still see the picture of a lovely dove holding an olive branch. The word “Peace” in beautiful calligraphy, the irony was not lost on me. I opened the card and there inside was was a folded check, in the memo, the words, Merry Christmas. The amount was enough that I knew I could now buy our children the gifts they dreamt of. I immediately called Jean. I explained how I had been praying in church for a solution to our financial stress. Until receiving her generous gift, we were being forced to choose between paying our heating bill or getting the kids gifts. She had given us the freedom to do both. Our new friend explained that she had prayed too and felt a calling to help us specifically. How overwhelmed I felt, knowing our prayers were heard and also answered.
That week I went shopping, I bought a few gifts for our children and something special for our new friend, Jean. Our friendship grew from that day. We would talk on the phone, I would write her cards or letters, we would visit with each other and of course we would chat at church. Jean was an unlikely friend. She had very little patience for children and her family seemed to be sparse. She had been married, but never had children. We became her adopted family and her generosity continued for years to come. Even after we were more financially stable, Jean always gave us a generous gift at Christmas and I would try to find her a gift she would enjoy, usually leaving it, like Santa, at her door.
This past week, our friend, Jean, slipped away from pneumonia. When I received the call, the first vision I had was of a dove and the word, PEACE. Jean was someone God put into our life at a time we truly needed to be reminded of His love. She will always be a reminder that God comes to us in unusual ways. From a stranger, who became a friend, she taught me that faith is real.
