Every month it is interesting to see where God will focus our attention with what to put at the heart of the newsletter. After talking to the executive director at Love INC recently one morning, my head was swimming.  So much has been going on and so many needs have been met that I could not keep track.  Her conversation ran the gamut from being excited to overwhelmed, disheartened to blessed and encouraged. So many people are in need in our community, but so many are stepping into the gap to show Christ's love as well.
 
Where to begin?  Do I start with the missions teams who have come in from Texas and Ohio and helped stroke victims with home makeovers?  Local volunteers went to each house and assessed the needs.  These included: painting the inside of homes, beautifying yards, fixing windows where snow blew into a home during winter, repairing and painting a fence, dryer hoses, door knobs,  and ceiling fans.  In addition to repairs, there was the deep cleaning and organizing homes crowded by all the possessions which accumulate with long-time residency. 
 
In the midst of the projects, precious God moments occurred.  Imagine the sweet fellowship around one woman's bedside as she joined her voice in song with the work team of youths and adults.  These teams blessed four women.  Some have lost their husbands and their families are not in state, but they want to thrive despite the changes the strokes have forced them to make. Please pray for these brave women.
 
I could tell you about the woman, a victim of an apartment fire. God has been using prayer and the hands of volunteers to help get her back on her feet again.  I will only mention her in passing as I hope to tell that story in detail next month.  I could tell you how our Annex fills quickly with generous donations and empties of them just as quickly.  Each item meets the needs of a neighbor like the woman mentioned above.  I could tell you about the baby cribs and layettes that recently have been delivered every week to new moms. 
 
Another story comes to mind of a generous donor who felt led of the Lord to donate an entire apartment's worth of furniture to Love INC.  If possible, he requested that there be stringent stipulations on the type of person who would get it, though he understood that might not be able to happen.  God had it covered.  Within twenty minutes, the call center received a request for assistance from just such a person.  Forty-eight hours later, volunteers jumped into action and the entire contents of the storage unit were in the apartment of a person hand picked by God to receive it.
 
Were there hard things this month as well?  Yes. God grows all of us through struggle and sorrow.  Love INC would not need to exist if this were a perfect world.  The people we serve are victims of destruction, illness, and accidents.  They are victims of poor choices, such as each of us make every day but with dire and tragic outcomes.  Listening to the pain of the people who call in can break your heart.  Enduring the anger that comes out of that pain can be hurtful as well, but can also send us running to the arms of Jesus Christ, Who knows how to mourn and knows how to comfort.  Pray for those who minister with you in touching these lives, that we will not lose heart in doing good, but see the blessing God brings from our obedience and perseverance.  Thank you for being a part of the ministry of Love INC.  Thank you for giving of your time, your possessions and your life to strengthen and encourage those who feel they are beyond the touch of hope.