Molly's Mason Jar

I miss my blog and never thought I’d go this long without writing a blog post. It seems the older I get, the busier I get. Yesterday I had one of the most amazing experiences ever, and it’s just too awesome not to take the time to share. I was so excited I called several people to tell them what happened. When I called my daughter and told her I had one of the best days ever, she asked if won the lottery and I told her, “No, even better!” Winning the lottery can’t begin to compare with what happened to me yesterday! Yes, it was just that awesome! I was given a rare opportunity to see how God connects the dots in our lives to bring everything together to take care of us.

To get the full picture, I have to go back September 11, 2009 and tell you about a night that completely changed my life forever. Jim and I took Cade fishing on the city pier. A couple was walking on the pier, stopping and talking with people as they passed by. They said hello to us as they walked to the end of the pier and stopped on their way back to ask Cade if he was catching any fish. One thing led to another and before we knew it, we were engaged in a delightful conversation with Mary and Matt.

Mary happened to mention to me that she volunteered at an ob/gyn clinic for the medically needy on Thursdays. The clinic was less than two miles from my house and I had no idea it even existed! Having always been fascinated with pregnancy and newborns I asked Mary if they could use another volunteer at the clinic. Mary said they always need volunteers and the following Thursday I was at the clinic filling out the paperwork to become a volunteer.

One day at the clinic and I was hooked! From that day on, Thursday became my favorite day of the week. I had been praying for more purpose and meaning in my life, and knew this was an answer to my prayer. That answer to prayer has put me with an awesome group of people who have become very dear friends to me. We all have a strong faith, are very supportive of each other and have a caring heart for our patients. What more could I ask for!!!

OK, back to the story...

Sometime last spring the director of the clinic asked for volunteers to help out at a back to school community health fair they were having in August. I offered to help and was amazed at all the services and vendors that were going to be at the event.

August is always such a hot month and I remember the day of the event it was sweltering it was so hot. My job was to give people forms to fill out and tell them what we were offering. A mom came up to my table to get her form and told me that she and her daughter had caught a ride half way, and walked the rest of the way to get to our outreach. Melissa shared with me that they were homeless living in Georgia and a friend told her she could come down here and live with the friend’s mom. Melissa was out of work and had no transportation. She had packed water and little Debbie’s for her daughter to eat and since it was so hot, she wanted to wait until it got a little cooler to walk back to where they were staying.

OK, everything Melissa said touched my heart, but most of all knowing the best she could pack for her daughter to eat was little Debbie’s and water, really tugged at my heart strings. There was no way I was going to let her walk home in that steamy hot weather. I told her she would have a ride home, if I had to get someone to cover for me and take her myself.

Melissa was so excited when I told her all the services we had for her at the outreach - free hair cuts, backpacks, underwear, hygiene bags, school supplies, physicals, immunizations, much more and LUNCH! I can’t remember if it was our director or founder that I went and shared Melissa’s situation with, but they promised they would hook her up with a ride and with Andre’, the president of the Mercy network, to see if he had any services that could help her. I went back to my table, knowing Melissa was in good hands and she has touched my life in the brief time I spent with her..

About a month ago Karen, one of the volunteers at the clinic, roped me into volunteering at an outreach for the homeless. Yes, she had to rope me into this one because I have so much going on right now, the last thing I wanted was to spend a day sitting at a table, no matter what the cause was for. Karen has such a heart for the homeless, that I couldn’t turn her down, so yesterday found me sitting at a table promoting the services that our clinic offers.

I left for a few minutes to get some fruit from the break room. Walking back to my table I saw Melissa! No, this wasn’t a chance encounter, I’m talking about a divine appointment! I stopped, looked at her and said, “Do you remember me?” She turned around and said, “Do I remember you! I’ve been wanting to see you, you saved my life!” She hugged me and of course, I started crying.

We started walking and she told me again that I saved her life. Then she said, “I didn’t tell you the whole story that day at the health fair.” The lady Melissa and her daughter were living with, was verbally abusive to them and she was planning to take her daughter and go back to living homeless. She was hooked up with Andre’ and he was able to set her up in a motel for a couple of months. People brought food to her and her daughter, and she landed a job. Someone donated her a car and she and her daughter were able to move into a better situation. Melissa told me there is much more to the story, and she can’t wait to share it with me. She feels like I saved her life and that all this happened because I cared. I told her it was all about the “little Debbie’s and water” comment that got to my heart!

The best part of Melissa’s story is that she is now a volunteer for the Mercy network and goes into the woods to feed the homeless. She has come full circle. Andre’ keeps telling her she needs to write her story so we can share it with others and I can’t wait to hear her story, and hope we can get it on video. Only God knows how many lives are going to be touched and changed by Melissa. The ripples will go on and on and one day I believe God will say, “Well done Melissa! You’ve been a good and faithful servant.”

I have some HUGE prayer requests in my life right now and yesterday strengthened my faith by making me realize if God can connect dots where - - a conversation with a couple on a pier, leads me to a clinic where I can give of myself to others,
- volunteering at the clinic leads me to a back to school outreach,
- at the back to school outreach Melissa comes to my table and a conversation about little Debbies and water, and walking home in the hot summer heat, pulls at my heart strings, to the point I go and seek help for her.
- someone made sure Melissa talked with Andre’ and that conversation led to help for her, changing her life forever,
- at a homeless outreach I run into Melissa and get to see how God worked every little detail to put it all together.

If God can do all of that, I know He can take care of my prayer requests in ways that I can never begin to imagine!


"Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our life is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see."
Corrie Ten Boom