tears of joy...

I wept twice at work this day...in joy.

First, I got the news that the final step in a project I started two years ago has come to fruition.
Second, I glimpsed how deeply I am loved.

While the latter is obviously important, it is too big for me to put into words.  So, I shall speak of the former.

I have written before of the very real, very prevalent problem of hunger in the United States.  At our sister school in DC, many of the children only eat during the school day, at free breakfast, free lunch, and free after-school snack time.  From Friday evening to Monday morning, their bellies see little food, if not remain empty.  Needless to say, Mondays at school can be pretty miserable until lunch time.

When I learned of this need, two years ago, I tried, as my boss had tried previously, to get the school into the Weekend Food Program run by the Capital Area Food Bank.  You have to be selected; you have to pass a site visit; you have to have volunteers to pick up the food (they have a greater need than delivery trucks).  All of these are obstacles.

Two years ago, I got 40 children covered after much begging, only a fifth of the school.  It broke my heart thinking of how in the world they were going to choose who got the food.  However, we couldn't make the site visit happen since the school staff are overwhelmed with needs, but since we had no drivers, it was a moot point anyway.  For the third time, we had asked for help and had to turn it down because of logistics and such.

Well, we started a partnership with another organization that supports the school.  At lunch with him a few weeks ago, I dared speak up ahead of my boss and pitched the need for the food program.  He had no idea hunger was such a problem in his own backyard (he actually lost his appetite at our lunch) and vowed then and there if I could get the school selected again, he would personally make sure the food was delivered each week until he could wrangle up volunteers among the 80 members of his organization.

I went from that meeting back to my office and dialed up the food bank, nervous because we had asked before and never came through.  Why would they trust us, choose us, when the need is so great and commitment is paramount to ensure nothing is sitting on the loading dock wasted?  The old program coordinator was gone, so I had to start over in my pitch for the school. I admit that I was shaking like an aspen leave in a fall gust the entire time I was talking to the new coordinator.

The Lord Jesus loves those children for she was just about to go into the selection meeting for the school year!

I hastily sent her the case statement I had written for the school two years ago (updating it on the fly) and a flyer for the Back-to-School night we have been hosting for 5 years, offering free school supplies to lure parents to meet with the teachers in this tough, tough ward.

Well, not only was the school selected for the program, but all 200+ students were going to be covered.  No one would have to go without!  I wept at the news.  But, alas, there was the obstacle of the site visit, even if the new partner really did personally pick up and deliver 40 boxes of food each week (5 bags each).  We had never managed to get through that step.

Well, the new partner also greatly rejoiced at the news and committed to being at the school if none of the staff could spare the time to get this done.  So, for the past two weeks, I have been anxiously waiting to hear that he was able to coordinate a site-visit.  Today, I received the call.  And I wept.

I wept for the joy of knowing those children will no longer know such depths of hunger, but also that their opportunity to learn on the first day of the week was just greatly enlarged.  The day will be better for the teachers as well, since behavior problems will drop.  An empty belly obscures everything and makes difficult all. 

The next time you sit down to a meal, stop and think of the 16.7 million children in America who live in food insecure homes.  Think of the children who must suffer through the summer, waiting for school to begin once more to have regular meals.  And pray for them.

But today, this moment, rejoice for the children of this school.  They know it not, but their lives are changing next Friday when the program begins.

I believe it is no small thing that the new partner is a child of Christ, who committed his prayers, as well as his time, to this problem.

By the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, this day a miracle came to fruition.  A new beginning was given.  And hope has been planted within hundreds of lives.



Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!