12/14/2024
***throwback to today 8 years ago in 2016 at Legacy Tree Thrift Shop where we served community food boxes. So many volunteers helped. (Read to the end. There’s an update after this encounter)
Long, but worth it...... Since the weekend, I've had shoes & clothes in bins outside the Legacy Tree Thrift Shop. Some of the homeless have stopped to gather things but I had just put out last night a few older stuffed animals and a doll that personally I wasn't sure if anyone would even want.
So last night I had a meeting to attend for outreach across town but it was our Helping Hands Day with food assistance until 7pm and I couldn't close just yet. I was just about to turn the lights off at 6:55pm, as I was already late to my meeting. Then a car slowly pulls in the parking lot and a young man holding his beautiful little girls hand gets out of a covered in mud jeep. Then the mom comes along and I open the door and greeted them.
They heard about our program through someone's FB post & they came from another city just to get food because they had ran out. They have lived in SC only 6 months from Upstate NY and you could tell they were in need. We chatted as I always do and I got them signed up to receive a box of food each month as well as I gave them vital information from our Legacy Tree Resource Center how to get additional assistance from other places.
But what tugged at my heart and caused me to cry uncontrollably (I'm still fighting back tears as I type) is that quiet sweet little girl was digging in the box outside and found those used toys that I didn't think anyone wanted. She became alive and was with such excitement like it was Christmas! Mom and dad took several of the clothes too and as they left, I cried all the way to my meeting.
See, as we talked I found out this tiny little girl doesn't get much food at her school when her mom can't pay for lunch. (She gets singled out and receives a cup of yogurt & salad)
The Dad is a roofer and they are charging the child $2.55 daily. She filled out an application online and she wasn't sure if she did it wrong. I told the mom to talk to the school counselor because she is not familiar with our system in SC and I'm sure someone would help her. I know in Greenville some kids get food for as low as .40 a day.
The Dad is supposed to come by again on the way home from work to get bread, but we didn't get any this week as we normally do. If he stops by, I'm going to do something. Not sure what yet, but I feel so compelled to reach out and help this family. One thing I know, I am going to see if I can contact the school to see if they can reach out to them. Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
What happened last night was like a scene from a movie but it was no movie. It was real life. I think of the Will Smith movie “Pursuit of Happiness” and we don't realize how good we have it until we have an experience like I did last night. I will never forget those faces....
I encourage all of us....make each moment count and count each moment.... those of us with kids and grandkids.... hold your family tight this Christmas. Don't sweat the small stuff and cherish what matters most. Not focusing on what people do to you, but how you can learn from experiences and grow. I know I learned a lot from last night!
******UPDATE:
The shop is closed now for several years, but because I wrote about this story, I had people bring in donations to the thrift shop and give presents to the family and for the parents to surprise the child on Christmas morning with the toys. Also, people called in to the little girls school and gave to the account the rest of the school year so she could eat free.
I will never forget this story! Let this be a blessing to you to find a family or a single person in need this season and give. Buy them groceries, buy them a gift do something nice for somebody you don’t know. Or better yet…. Serve an outreach that needs just hands on to pack lunches such as my friend Ma’ta does. When I had that little store it was my ministry ground. God brought people from all walks of life there and even from out of state to come visit just to see what this store was about. It was definitely not an average thrift store.
Gosh I miss it! But I choose to still give and serve in ways people don’t even know. Let This Christmas be a very special Christmas of you taking the time to serve somebody with your kindness.
