Serving Through Supporting
At a recent Board meeting, Family Care mom from Grace’s House of Hope in Mobile, Chereta, was asked if she could share her story with our Board. I met Chereta before the Board meeting. She was quiet and a little nervous, but very polite and pleasant. She sat and waited outside of our Board room while the Board conducted its business.
Toward the end of our Board meeting, we invited Chereta to come in and share her story. Her anxiety seemed to spike as she looked at the full room. She looked at me and quietly and nervously asked, “Can I read something?” I told her that was fine, and she turned on her phone and began to read very familiar words . . .
“I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you took care of me.”
Chereta was reading from the twenty-fifth chapter of the gospel of Matthew. She then shared with our Board how she and her children had been homeless and living in their car, when your Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes took them in. They were hungry and your Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes provided food for them. Your Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes provided them with clean clothes. When Chereta had a medical scare, your Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes cared for her and her children.
Chereta did not read this entire passage, but it is one that many of us know by heart. In Matthew 25, Jesus also says, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it unto me.” And He says, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
When you give to the Children’s Homes and when you pray for the Children’s Homes and those we serve, you are revealing yourself to be deeply concerned about the “least of these,” as you are moved to seek to meet their needs. When we give someone food or clothes or family, we are doing so on your behalf! What a joy it will be to maybe get to stand in the very back of the crowd surrounding the Throne of God and to hear Him say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” It is a privilege to serve on your behalf. May God richly bless you.
Family Care is our Ministry for struggling mothers and children. This program provides a mother with transitional housing while she gains employment, saves money, receives counseling, and learns life skills, such as budgeting and parenting. To learn more about our Family Care ministry, visit us here.