The journey began in May
2000, when he first came to Crossroads Ministry along with
his wife and their one-year-old. Over the course
of the next dozen years, as the child’s special needs
became more pronounced, Crossroads was there to help the struggling family.
Crossroads Ministry was
there…
Ø …with carefully-prepared boxes of food from our pantry
to provide essential nourishment for a low-income family with a young child;
Ø …with a little gasoline in the tank when there wasn’t
enough to make it to work.
Crossroads Ministry was
there…
Ø …when they simply didn’t have $55 to pay for electricity
or $59 for natural gas;
Ø …when they didn’t know where they’d get the $47 to pay
for a prescription;
Crossroads Ministry was
there…
Ø …to help ease their pain when urgently needed dental
care would not have been possible without a $124 medical assist;
Ø …when it made all the difference just to get a set of clean,
used bed linens with their monthly food box, or $10 worth of clothing from the
local thrift shop.
Month after month, he worked
hard to make ends meet.
Year after year, the burden
took its toll.
Still, Crossroads Ministry
was there…
Ø …when the growing child needed school supplies;
Ø …when the prescription costs went up faster than his
modest paycheck;
Ø …when a devastating flood washed away the desperate
family’s last reservoir of hope, and he worked as hard as he could to stay
current with child support.
Crossroads Ministry urges
clients to avail themselves of food from our pantry, not only to help ensure
balanced and consistent meals, but also because saving on the monthly grocery
bill can free up scarce financial resources for myriad other needs.
The same principle is true
for Crossroads Ministry’s many volunteers and donors. Just as 20 pounds of food a
week becomes a thousand pounds a year, so also small expressions of compassion
add up. From the time his one-year old grew into a high school junior, a
stunning 10,721.8 pounds of food helped a desperate family survive and grow.
After a decade-and-a-half of
walking together, faces grow familiar, understanding deepens, hearts expand. We
became concerned when regular visits became less frequent, and sad when all
contact was lost shortly after he unexpectedly lost his job and his housing
last year.
But sadness turned into joy when
he surprised us with a phone call on June 1. He was proud to have found a home
with his brother and sister-in-law in another Northern Colorado town, and glad
to report that a steady job now enabled him to fully meet all of his financial
responsibilities. He simply wanted to share his gratitude for help through the
years past and, as he stood at a new crossroads in his life, newfound hope for
the journey ahead.
Walk in love, as Christ also has loved
us. –from
Ephesians 5:2 (NKJV)
