Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

The letter went out. With advice and encouragement from those who know us and love us, we asked if you would like to partner with us to rid ourselves of a 5 digit medical debt.

Oh, how the floodgates opened! The whole debt should be cleared by August! How we wish we could hug each one of you. Each of you, no doubt, have a story of how God moved in your life to send your hard earned money in to help us in this way. Below is just one of them from one of our supporting churches.

Ken & Anne,

Your relationship is dear to us. The news of your financial need touched us. The question wasn’t should we give. The question was how much can we give? The question was, where will the money come from? Do we have any money?

Perhaps by now you received our check or will soon. Of course better than any gift is the story behind the giving. Let me try to briefly tell ours.

Two times a year we open our  doors to “the least of these”. This past  December we opened our doors to the homeless for the second time. Sometimes our community doesn’t like it when we open our doors. Fear of our guests loitering, stealing, or safety issues abound.

This time two ladies from our community stopped by to drop off two coats for our guests to have. They were no ordinary coats. They were full length fur coats. It seemed inappropriate to pass out these coats because, for one reason, they were heavy and the thought of wet snow on them caused a legitimate concern that these jackets would weigh them down. Instead one member took them to a furrier for appraisal. Each coat was valued at $500 or more.

We just sold one! We just gave you what wasn’t even ours. Yet the joy of giving was great. We matched it with another $500 we raised to make our gift $1000, which perhaps your donor will match to $3000.

A long story but worth sharing of how God met our need to give. How God honored your prayer of need. How you have not if you ask not. All of us were touched by God’s grace somehow.

God’s Grace. We have felt both His and your grace in our lives this month. It is a story worth retelling!