As I prepare for the upcoming Easter holiday with my own family, I am reminded about the tearful phone call we received at Bridges of Hope from Nicole a couple of years ago. It was a just three days before Easter and she had made the difficult decision not to go visit her grandmother for the Easter holiday.
She explained that, because her work hours had been reduced lately, she just couldn’t afford the gas money to travel, and, on top of that, one of her little ones was ill. She told one of our workers that she was feeling sad & lonely and was upset that she couldn’t afford the fixings for an Easter dinner or Easter baskets for her children. Even though she knew that’s not really what the holiday is about, she was feeling a loss at not being able to provide for her children.
Because of our special relationship with churches, we decided to see if a local church might be able to connect with Nicole and sponsor her family for Easter. A couple of our workers made a list of the items needed to make this family’s Easter a little brighter. We sent an email to our church mailing list and, within 20 minutes, The Journey North responded and committed to take care of the whole list!
Nicole sent a heartfelt note of thanks just a week later and shared that it was the best holiday she had ever experienced with her children. She also called a week or so later and asked if we had any resources for her to obtain a bible. A Bible was put into her hands right away! So, even though we all know Easter is NOT about the bunny, the candy or the ham, I think God was at work in Nicole’s life to get her connected with Bridges and re-connected with her faith. Even if it started out being just about the bunny, the candy, and the ham!
It actually happens that way quite often. People reach out to Bridges of Hope with one concern, and, through His wisdom, something else comes to light. We are so thankful for The Journey North’s help with Nicole’s situation and we are thankful to them again this year at Easter time. At their Good Friday service, they will collect a special offering to support our work at Bridges so we can continue connecting families like Nicole’s to the resources that can help.
I wish you all a blessed Easter. He is Risen!