It's been just over two years since the first meeting was held with Mrs. Crigler, the John Weldon Elementary Principal, to share with her how God wanted to feed the kids at her school. I won't go into everything that has happened since then but it's been nothing short of an adventure!
Week after week there have been needs and God has fulfilled them through the people of this community. Children who wouldn't normally be able to share classroom treats on their birthday have passed out treats to their friends with huge smiles across their faces. Goodness, I wish I'd kept count of just how many children have been able to serve their community along side their parents purchasing food, packing bags and delivering bags. From before that very first meeting, Bear Necessities has been not only about the children receiving food but the entire community serving as God created us to do.
A while back we gained a few new donors who do not have children of their own at John Weldon but do have a family connection there. These are people I would likely have never met had it not been for the divine connecting of the dots. I was told a few months ago that they had put in for a grant to purchase and donate food for Bear Necessities. Mostly, I hid this away in my heart and just prayed about it happening.
Yesterday they arrived. Real live angels, messengers from God himself.
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| Dennis, Myself, Mark and Sherry |
Of course, they didn't want their picture taken either and every "thank you" was met with one right back. These three lovely people are just a few of a group from the St. Charles' Elk's Lodge that have kind of taken us under their wing.
This is not all of it. This is just what I caught as the assembly line of people (Mark, Dennis, Sherry & my family) carried things down to the basement.
A different angle but still not everything. I kept in my tears while they were here, promising Sherry that I wouldn't get her crying and ruin her make-up but they fell from my eyes after they were gone and I beheld the goodness of God.
"The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him---
may your hearts live forever!"
Psalm 22:26
It might sound odd but one of the things that I prayed about this is that it would NOT cover every need for the remainder of the year. One of the things that i know about myself is that if I let go of a good habit, I'll find a bad habit filling its empty space before I know what happened. Seeing God provide week after week is at the core of Bear Necessities and so is the service of those who do the shopping and donating. That ending in one day would be heartbreaking. It's the bittersweet side of things. You, the community members who pray for and donate to Bear Necessities are critically important and that is no different now. As the kids and I put everything on the shelves and the shelves OVERFLOWED, there were a few tiny holes. Ok, the shelves don't have holes. They're as full as they can be--- LITERALLY! But there is an item or two still needed each week for at least the next month and that brought me great joy!
This week we need 11 tuna.
yea, that's it. This morning I was reminded of this bit of scripture, which just so happened to be a big part of the inspiration of Bear Necessities:
"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had."
Acts 4:32
Christ Jesus is still a God of miracles and He is working each week in this community and it's nothing short of amazing!
