Wednesday, November 2, 2011

A Miracle of Service

Miracles can reveal themselves to us in the smallest of acts. I have never had doubts about the works of God and His ability to hear our prayers and move to answer us in His own way. So when I heard the following story on WMHK FM it only strengthened my faith in the existence of miracles. I am remembering the details of the story, so please forgive me if portions are paraphrased from the original inspiring story. I am so thankful to the mother who called in to uplift others with this personal story as well as WMHK FM for allowing her the opportunity to do so.

A woman called in to the radio station to tell a story about her grandmother, who years ago faced hardship as a single mother with several children. She had no money and had run out of food in the house, and became deeply depressed after putting her children to bed hungry with no idea how to feed them the next day. She got down on her knees and prayed. Through her tears, she first thanked the Lord for His graciousness and acts of good to others, then began to pour her heart out about her situation and how she and her children had nothing to eat. She prayed for specific grocery items she knew she could stretch out and make last as long as possible to feed her family. She, in effect, gave the Lord her shopping list.

The next morning as she was getting her children dressed and ready for school, wishing with all her heart she could provide them breakfast, she was surprised by a knock at the door. The person outside her door was a stranger to her. They did not know each other at all. The stranger said the Lord “laid it upon my heart to go and provide for someone in need, and directed me to come to you specifically with these groceries.”  The woman was shocked to find that everything she prayed for the night before, all the items she knew she needed to provide for her children, were in the gift brought by this stranger.

I was moved and touched by this story for many reasons. I was struck by the faith, earnestness and complete honesty of that mother, talking to the Lord as if He were right there with her, listening to her and holding her hands. I believe God always knows already what our needs are, and just wants us to be direct and communicate our wishes and needs to Him.

I was also touched by the testimony of the stranger who came to her door.  This person responded without question to the urgings laid on their heart by God and acted without hesitation to fulfill the inspiration and provide exactly what was needed. All for someone they did not know.

As we enter the Thanksgiving season, we are already seeing long lines of families in need at our doorstep. Mothers and fathers who tell us with tears in their eyes they do not know what they would do if we were not there from time to time to help them. We are already seeing hundreds of families, who like that woman years ago, do not know where their next meal will come from and worry about their immediate future. As a charitable organization, we need faithful servants like the man who did not question and answered God’s call. We can make it easy for those who choose to be faithful servants and help with our mission.

You do not have to leave your home to go to the store or go shopping. You don’t have to fill grocery bags.  You can visit our website and provide a monetary donation of $20, $50, or $100 that will greatly assist Harvest Hope in meeting the community’s hunger needs this Thanksgiving. Harvest Hope dedicates 98¢ out of every dollar donated to feeding the hungry in our community. Please click here and see the easy ways to help us help those in need of food.

The Bible reminds us, “It gives us joy to give”.  Will you be that faithful servant to help us right now in this easy way?  I am on my knees, being thankful for you and at the same time, asking the Lord to help us in this way.

Wishing you and your family the best of all Thanksgiving blessings as you share time together,

Denise Holland
CEO – Harvest Hope Food Bank