Good morning…
Waking in the middle of the night, I turn on a single lamp, strike a match and light a melting candle. As I let the dogs out briefly to do their thing, our thermostat reads “18,” which is bitter cold for Atlanta. My heart turns to those who are homeless, in our city and other cities facing even more challenging conditions, homeless people trying to sleep outside at this very moment. That turns me toward the blessing I was privileged to be a part of yesterday.
Yesterday was a special day as I finally opened all the brown boxes which have been arriving on our doorstep.
Just over a week ago, in a P.S. at the end of a blog, I posted about our opportunity to make “Welcome Bags” for the fifteen women attended an overnight retreat today at Ignatius House, courageous women who are recovering from homelessness and addiction. Fourteen of you responded, offering to add different comfort items. Some dropped items by our home, several shipped by Amazon. Boxes of goodies had been piling up in our foyer until yesterday afternoon. From 1:00 to 3:00 pm, I opened boxes, put fifteen bags on fifteen doorknobs or drawer knobs, and trailed around our home, again and again and again, dropping in various gift items. Journals. Pens. Gum. Lip gloss. Tons of snacks. Handmade cards. Angels cards with Scriptures. Cozy socks. Gloves. Scarves. Toothbrushes. Travel kits filled with toiletries. Beaded bracelets that say “Blessed” tucked in a small cloth bag. On and on went our generosity.
These bags were bursting with the love of God as I put them in our back seat and drove them to the Ignatius House Retreat Center. I felt grateful to place our bags in the library where the women will begin meeting this morning around 9:00 am. Along with our “Welcome Bags” and homemade banana breads, other volunteers donated flowers for each room and a handmade prayer shawl for each woman. Generosity adds to generosity. Isn’t that God’s abundant way?
Before leaving the retreat center, I texted the woman in charge, sharing a few pictures. “Bags are so beautiful this time. So much fun! My friend also made banana bread for each woman with a little note. This sacred room looks well prepared for God to do some miracles!”
Now we can all be part of this miracle, tapping the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, as we carry these vulnerable women on our prayers into God’s tender, loving care. Thank you for helping to usher in the kingdom of God, as it thrives on earth just as it thrives in heaven.
In this quiet moment, I sense a sweet nod from God. “I tell you this: You did all these things to help other people. They were not important people, but they were my friends. When you helped them, then you also helped me” (Matthew 25:40, EASY).
…Sue…
P.S. These quarterly Ignatian Spirituality Project (ISP) retreats, offered free of charge to the participants, are made possible by generous donors. If you would like to contribute to cover the cost of this weekend, please feel free to respond at this link: https://ignatiushouse.org/donate/.
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