Running through the list of open dates, I was pleased at how many were already taken.
My heart, just before Christmas, was tender for those that didn’t have food, much less a home to serve it in. So I was checking for needs at our local homeless shelter, Shawano Area Matthew 25, based on the scripture in Matthew 25:40 “…whatever you do for the least of these…” They’re located at 105 E. Richmond St., Shawano, and open from November through April. For more information, check their website at www.sam25.org.
I noticed Jan. 8 was open to bring a meal in to the approximately 12 guests housed there. Signing up, I felt an immediate rush of peace over me, and love for those I would be serving. Excited, I began to plan my menu.
I feel incredibly grateful to God. We have enough. We always have enough. Of everything. We are not rich financially, oh no, but rich in the blessings received straight from our Father God. So because of that, I look for ways to love on others.
Our daughter is on staff with Youth With A Mission, and within the organization, she’s had the amazing opportunity to serve people worldwide. We can’t physically do this, but she and her staff and students are willing, so we thankfully support them financially, allowing them full attention to the task at hand … serving the least of these in Jesus’ name.
Twice our daughter had the privilege of traveling to Africa and twice came back suffering culture shock; not from their poverty but from re-entry to the affluence of the United States.
“We live in a mansion, Mom! Compared to them, we live in a mansion!” she said.
Years ago, I cried out to my older sister, gone now close to eight months with the Lord, “Beth. Why weren’t we born in a thatch roof hut, dirt poor and scrounging for food and water every day?”
I’ll never forget her quiet, yet fierce reply: “So we can help those who were, Kay.”
It resonated so well with me that immediately I signed up to sponsor a child through Compassion International. This was over 20 years ago. According to their website, www.compassion.com, Compassion International is a “child-advocacy ministry pairing compassionate people with children living in extreme poverty to release the children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty.”
Currently, we sponsor a little girl named Fernanda from Mexico, who writes letters through an interpreter. Included are her hand-drawn pictures of brilliant yellow suns with glad faces, green leafy trees and smiling stick people. I pour over them in wonderment. I know I’m helping plus making her happy. Her pictures reflect her heart.
Always, a grateful note is tucked along. Her economically challenged family receives food and support, and she attends classes teaching her how beloved she is and secure is her hope for the future through the saving grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, through the cross and his resurrection. All of this for a modest monthly sponsorship.
When we serve, we never look down on those who do not have; asking no questions. It reminds me of the Bible verse Luke 14:7-14, where Jesus taught when we give a feast, invite those that cannot repay and blessings will be great, for God will reward us at the time when all godly people rise from death.
The night my husband and I took supper to the homeless shelter, it was misty, foggy, and we didn’t know if it was going to freeze or not. We pulled up to the door and, ringing the bell, there was no answer. Immediately, I felt a sense of dread and self-doubt. Did I get the wrong night?
Quickly checking their website, I was directed to a cell phone number and calling, let the gal know who I was and had the night meal outside their door. We found out the doorbell didn’t work.
Getting inside, we brought in our meal and, placing it on the counter, began to uncover the food. In the meantime, the attendant was placing my chocolate chip cookies onto a large, ornate floral platter. Tears prickled behind my eyes and threatened to spill over. That simple act of dignity and special treatment profoundly touched my heart. She had ultimate compassion for these guests who were simply down on their luck at the moment, but all of us are God’s children and deserve to be treated with respect.
We spoke to a few gathered there. One fella especially had such a look of gratefulness, and again, my tears surfaced. I wanted to hug him. We mentioned we were farmers and pretty much everything we brought was homegrown. His hungry smile lit up the room.
Loving your neighbor as yourself shows how much we love Jesus. Kindness, respect, help and dignity given to our fellow earth-dwellers blesses him.
(“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 12:30-31)
Kay Reminger was born and raised on a dairy farm, and she married her high school sweetheart, who happened to farm for a living in Leopolis. Writing for quite a few years, she remains focused on the blessings of living the ups and downs of rural life from a farm wife’s perspective.
FARM LIFE FROM A FARM WIFE: Giving and loving one another brings blessings
