I am convinced that one of the hardest things that a person has to do is to acknowledge that they need help and then go ask for it. Fr. Dave, Fr. Hans and Deacon Brett do a great job of showing ways to do that with our Heavenly Father, but one human to another is different. I see it on the faces of moms and dads who walk through the door of the Food Closet for the first time. They are scared, nervous and almost always tell me they are embarrassed and know there are people who need help more than they do. They feel guilty, as though they are taking something from someone else. Thanks to your incredible generosity toward this Ministry, I can confidently tell them that it is not an either or case; either you get it or they get it. Rather, I can tell them we have plenty for all who come.
A couple of weeks ago after our amazing volunteers had gone home for the day, there was a knock at the door of the Food Closet. There stood a young lady in her mid-30’s asking if we were open. I told her we had closed for the day, but asked how we could help. She told me she was a single mom with two kids and that mom lived with her. She worked, but hours had been cut and she was falling behind on a few things. She admitted mom had been encouraging her for weeks to come here to get some food, as they now had little to eat.
I told her I would be happy to serve her when she told me that “Mom is out in the car and since she does most of the cooking, could she shop?” No problem! What made it interesting is that mom spoke very limited English and I only speak “un poquito” (very little) Spanish. It was an adventure while the daughter worked with Care To Share on the administrative side of what we do. Mom and I got along great as we shopped for the various foods that the kids would eat; I practicing my Spanish and she trying so hard not to laugh at my poor attempt.
As we were loading the car with the food she had selected, both mom and daughter provided me with words of thanks and hugs that needed no translation. They simply reminded me of why we are here.