Our volunteers and donors are fantastic. Generosity truly does keep our doors open and our house afloat. Sometimes there is a desperate need and Divine Providence provides suddenly in the last minute. Other times, a seemingly simple gift makes all the difference. Things like putting documents in a file in chronological order or decorating a few mason jars for a staff member to use at a friend’s funeral can mean so much. The generosity of those who enter our home is absolutely beautiful.
What’s so amazing to see is how the artificial lines between volunteers, donors, moms, and staff get blurred and very often erased. While we all fill different roles in The Zechariah house, the generosity that I am so privileged to witness reveals a great deal about our common humanity and our inherent need for and dependence upon one another.
There have been so many beautiful moments, but this one is by far my favorite:
A young mother stopped by this past week with a big donation of items she thought we could use. Then, she informed us that she had about $50 extra in her budget for the month, and she wanted to buy something for the house. Since meat is expensive, we do not purchase much. So this mom went to the store and purchased meat to stock the house. Furthermore, on seeing a closet in disarray, she offered to come and create a better organizing system for the overstuffed space. True generosity.
This mom also brought her four year old son with her. He had something for us. She knelt down and asked him if he still wanted to give it to us, and he immediately nodded and handed over his treasure. Clutched in his fist, he had three quarters, a nickel, and two pennies. He only had 82 cents, but he wanted us to have it.
Such simplicity and generosity. And the best part: this little boy, our newest donor, was the first Zechariah House baby. He and his mom lived at our home in 2009.
-Mary, The Zechariah House
