Then, the animals gave way to people. There was family whose dad was in another state, working a job to help pay the bills. The mother was tired and overwhelmed, so we brought the children home to stay with us for a few days just to give her a break. Our children thought it was camp week and had a blast. They didn’t realize the ministry that flowed as they played.

Then we sought out situations to help those in need. Building homes with Habitat for Humanity locally, then in Atlanta. The work was hard. Carrying boards to be hammered into place. Helping the professionals as they inserted windows, bathtubs, kitchen cabinets, and exit doors. The reward came when the front door key was handed to the new owners and their children and with tears the daddy shared, "This is the first house we’ve ever owned. Thank you so much." We swallowed hard, but it didn’t stop our tears from flowing.

With the hurricanes last fall, we found relief efforts to join. Besides assisting with the local one, our oldest son helped load a trailer with food and supplies, then spent a quick weekend making deliveries to the local churches in Mississippi and New Orleans. Yes, he helped the people there – but they helped him, too. He came home a changed man – more giving and grateful.

As I ponder this verse, I realize I’ll probably never be seen as the prudent man who sees evil and hides himself. It will always be a simple decision for us to jump in and help. I will proceed and pay the price – the price of friendship, of giving a hand up and not out, of caring when no one else seems to, of seeing the human inside the hurting.

However, the world – and my children – will be the richer for it. My children are learning how to care for the hurting, those less fortunate. How to be cautious. When to call the vet or other authorities. How to bandage a broken wing or mend a hurting heart. And how to determine when all that’s needed is food, water, and love. Sometimes, hot dogs is all it takes.

My children will internalize this into their lives. It will become the fabric of their very beings -- something they cannot turn off. And it will extend to people, relationships, and all those who are hurting.

For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever beleives in him should not perish but have eternal life. 

John 3:16

From one mother to another,

Kym