A Can of Hominy

Understanding of this article will surely vary from person to person; but my reason for including it is because to me it shows several things that no matter our circumstances are important.  (1) It shows the power children hold when talking to a parent who is not always there; has problems of their own; and who loves them.  (2)  It shows that any addiction causes us to make mistakes and thru guilt feelings to over react; (3) as time passes, we learn there is both sadness and humor in some of the trying times in our lives.  (4) Everything we experience in our lives, good or bad is a learning experience and leads us to what we are today.

So, here is the story...One day (many years ago) while I was at work my ex-husband called my home knowing it was time for the kids to be home from school and to talk to them.  My daughter answered the phone and he asked her what she was doing and she said she was looking for something to eat and all we had was "A Can of Hominy".  Now let me assure you there were times when we did not have a great selection of food items however, I am positive we were never down to one can of hominy.  I am sure there were foods to eat in our cabinets but just not anything that appealed to her like chips and candy, etc.
Some background you need to know in order to understand what is coming is that this man was an alcoholic who still worked hard and probably felt guilt at not being there to see what his children had to eat.  The day passed and I came home from work my daughter said nothing about the phone call with her dad.  Not long after getting home the phone rang and it was my ex calling from the airport and asking if I would come pick him up.  I admit I was shocked but he did lots of shocking things back then so I said I would come but asked why he was there.  He sounded as if he had been drinking and said he would explain when we came and picked him up.  
I loaded the kids and myself into my Volkswagen Bug and off we went to the airport.  We picked him up and headed back towards home.  He said that he could  not stand the idea of his children having nothing to eat so he was there to go grocery shopping.  We had three stores near our home and despite the fact that I told him I was sure we had more than "A Can of Hominy" he was determined to stop at the first store.  In this store we made good choices and bought fruits, vegetables, meats, all healthy good foods.  When we returned to the car and loaded the foods it was a little crowded with people and foods (you do remember I am in a small Volkswagen) and he was continuing to drink.  We passed a second store and he insisted we stop to shop again.  There was no discouraging him so into the store we all went.  There again, we loaded several carts with foods.  I am not certain but I believe at this time he had spent about $700 and was continuing to drink.  Now we get back in the Volkswagen and groceries are everywhere kids packed in under the groceries that little car could barely move, and we passed a third grocery.  He began to insist that we stop and I said we had no more room and we had to take these things we had already purchased home.  I figured by this time that once we got to the house he would likely go to sleep and shopping would be over.  I was wrong.  We got home unloaded what we had purchased and he insisted on going back to the store we passed up.  There was no changing his mind so everyone got back into the car and we went back to the last store.  At this point, he really was unaware of what was going on around him and I said to the kids "Each of you take a cart and fill it with whatever you want; I don't care what you get just fill this cart as quickly as you can and lets get out of here."  Well you should have seen those kids eyes.  They were as big as you can imagine at the excitement of filling a cart with whatever they wanted and that is what they did.  They got all the junk stuff I always refused to buy and were thrilled.  Once my ex saw the filled carts he was satisfied although he did not know what was in them.  We went home, he passed out on the couch and the next morning he went back to the airport and to his home.  
My daughter did not want me to tell this story because she loves her dad and did not want people to see this side of him.  She asked me that if I was going to tell this that I would also tell that she believes he is no longer drinking (or at least not to excess) and she also believes he is attending a church.  I have to admit I do not know if what she believes is accurate or  not but I hope it is true.  I am not telling this story to hurt anyone.  My reason for telling is it was a part of our lives and from some of these experiences I learned you have to move on and away from some people.  I also learned that an addiction whether it be alcohol, drugs, or anything else, it can take you away from your family and cause you lots of guilt, pain and despair.  It can cause loss of family and your finances and bring pain to lots of people.  I do believe that once these things happen to you only God and Prayer can bring you thru it.
Let me add...I DID NOT HAVE TO BUY GROCERIES FOR MONTHS, and to a mother raising children alone it was indeed a blessing I can't help but believe that God brought that phone call from a guilty feeling dad to his child for just that purpose.  Don't you agree?
Perhaps it was a lesson to me from God about helping others and caring for our friends and neighbors.  Because I have experienced these things I believe is why I am so passionate about helping others and feeding the hungry.  I know that God had a plan for me all these years to care about others and to be a friend and comforter to anyone who needed help.  Pray for  me and my endeavor of trying to  help others.

Just a Little Talk

I feel so much for people in need, most likely, because I have walked miles in their shoes.  I have been divorced now for many years--not what I had expected in my life because I had married a man I believed to be a christian--but he didn't love me and found other women and Jack Daniels that he cared more for.  I tried for a long time to change him but finally realized you cannot change a person who does not want to be changed.  I made a lot of mistakes during that time of my life but praise God, Jesus never gave up on me.  The Holy Spirit nagged me continually until he got my attention and led me back to my church family where I had grown up.   In leading me thru life and to him I believe God put me in places where I could learn many of life's lessons and prepared me to be of help to others facing many of the problems I had experienced.  I believe that whatever situation we are in there is something we can learn from it and take it forward for good in our lives.  It was difficult raising two children on the very small amount of income and child support that I received.  (I received $125.00 per child).  It was a very small amount but I know there are women who do not get that much or even any at all.  I did always get the support but never knew if it would come the first of the month, the middle, or end of the month.  I could not count on when I would have it.  My children and I did struggle and sometimes I still struggle today.  We may not have always had what we wanted to eat but, we never went hungry.  Parents were there to help and then after my Dad passed away Mother did what she could to help us.  And as for receiving any government assistance, I was always, just above the amount you could earn or have and receive help.  This post should give you some insight into why I am so interested in helping those who are down.  I have learned that you absolutely cannot feel sorry for yourself while you are helping others.  Unfortunately I cannot do all that I sometimes want to do but I can give these people thru the help of my congregation, an amount of food, and a prayer for their well being and send them on hopefully with a lighter step.  If any of these people want to learn more about what God can do in their lives and how to be saved for a much better life in heaven I can turn them over to Godly people who will teach them what they need to know to be saved.


To end this post I just want to say that my next post will be called A CAN OF HOMINY.  It is both a sad and funny real life story.  I don't share it easily because it is something that happened to my children and myself and brings tears and to be perfectly honest a little laughter to  me whenever I recall it.  So please come back soon and read the next part of this testimony and pray every day for me that I am able to help someone else.   God Bless and Keep You until we meet again.

The New Year

I am the new year. I am an unspoiled page in your book of time.
I am your next chance at the art of living. I am your opportunity to practice what you have learned about life during the last twelve months.
All that you sought and didn’t find is hidden in me, waiting for you to search it but with more determination.
All the good that you tried for and didn’t achieve is mine to grant when you have fewer conflicting desires.
All that you dreamed but didn’t dare to do, all that you hoped but did not will, all the faith that you claimed but did not have—these slumber lightly, waiting to be awakened by the touch of a strong purpose. I am your opportunity to renew your allegiance to Him who said, "Behold, I make all things new."
Let us all work together to achieve all the goals and opportunities that we have before us.  Let us praise God for his everlasting love and for his Son who died on the Cross for our sins.  Let us follow the example set for us by Christ to do good in the name of God for our fellow man.

End of Year Blessing

  May you shake off the dust of regret and disappointment and walk boldly into the New Year. May you raise your arms in praise and open your hands in faith. May God pour over you a fresh anointing and impart to you a clearer vision for your life. May you throw off every lesser commitment and make every moment count in the days ahead. God appointed you to live a significant, purposeful life. May you lay hold of it this year!

God Loves Us All

Sometimes Things Don't Happen The Way We Want

While it is always our wish to be able to help all who request help, sometimes things do not work as we hope they will.  I am saddened to tell you that the lady I posted about in my last post, who just had cancer surgery and had so many children depending on her, passed away last Sunday night.  Her friends called on Monday to update us about her.  They told of her passing but had the good news that the children's grandmother wanted them all.  The grandmother lives in Houston and the lady was being taken there to be buried but they were trying to get the children down there.  These friends did not have the finances to get the children to Houston and themselves back home.  Fortunately good people in our congregation were able to buy a gas card with enough on it for them to make the trip and back home.  The friends came to the church and brought some of the children with them.  They were very well behaved and pleasant.  They were, of course, upset at the loss of their mother and the fact that their lives were going to experience a big change.  The friends said that they were also taking the food we had given for the children to the grandmother.  The mother's name was Ms. Johns and if you are reading this I request that you pray for these children and their grandmother.  I am praying that God will bring some better things into their lives.  


On a brighter note, as of today, we have been able to assist 18 families which consist of approximately 87 people to have food on Christmas.  Thank you congregation for your donations which is the only way this would have been possible.  This was our first Christmas food project but we will be continuing through the year to help people and we will be ready next year to handle even more people. 

Giving and Receiving

This post is a little out of the order sequence that I had planned in sharing our Pantry story.  It is, however, one of those wonderful moments that I cannot hold inside me and I need to share it.  

Today a group of us met in the pantry to pack boxes of food, and to begin giving them to the people we had scheduled to pick them up today.  The blessings began yesterday with finding a sale on Peanut Butter for less than $1.00 per jar and being able to take some of the money that had been donated and buying a jar for everyone on our list.  In addition today we were delighted when a friend showed up with six (6) boxes of fruit they were donating to the cause and fresh fruit was added to each box.   But even these things were not the best thing to happen today.  We had a beautiful moment when three (3) ladies showed up to pick up their boxes at the same time and they were also picking up a box for one of their friends who was in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery this week.  One of these ladies was caring for the cancer patients nine children ( two sets of twins and then some single births).  Two ladies from our congregation, myself, and these three (3) women, stood together in a circle, holding hands, and praying.  We thanked God for the opportunity to help with food for them.  We asked him for strength for all of us to serve him and grow in knowledge and faith.  We prayed for the cancer patient that he care for her and her family and asked that the doctors have the knowledge to do what was best for her.  We concluded our prayer, amens were said all around  and then these women, who were picking up the food, began to hug each of us and then they continued on to hug each other and to express that they felt so blessed by God with what was being done to help them.  My feelings are that this showed the beauty of their spirits.  How could anyone not want to help them when this kind of response was received?

I believe this was one of the best experiences ever.  They were so very grateful for what was being done for them and we were so grateful for being able to help them.  It was indeed "Soul Food".   We will continue to keep in touch with them.  We will send them cards and we will continue to invite them to worship with us.  Please pray for our pantry and that continued good will come from it.