I have just been blessed by a neighbor in a very unexpected way.
We had a difficult situation in our home that seemed unsolvable this week. You know that feeling when you can’t solve a problem? It comes from the place where you think you can figure out all the things that need to be solved and yet, this we could not. We needed to find a place for my son to temporarily live away from Dan and me, and away from his wife and children as we all share a home. You see, he is a grocery store manager working 12-hour shifts and as an essential worker, his exposure to COVID-19 is high. Although God has been working in wonderfully, unimaginable ways in my body this year, I still need to admit that I am somewhat immune-compromised.
Maybe some of you are thinking about this too because someone in your home is at a higher risk. You are separating, cleaning, washing, and doing your best to keep everyone healthy. But something changed in our household this week and we needed a different strategy. After many conversations back and forth with family, a solution wasn’t coming in my timing.
Filled with many emotions, I got into my car at 10p and drove around the neighborhood with the intent to put a few blocks between me and our house and just scream … loudly.
But I couldn’t. I’m not a screamer. I have no screamer in me. There were a few pathetic ahhh’s but nothing from the depth of my soul that I had hoped would emerge.
So after an hour (yes, it took an hour), I pulled over and said, “Jesus, I don’t know how to solve this.” It was immediately clear that I needed to let go of some of the anger and disappointment that I built up in my spirit over the last few days. My out-of-control emotions weren’t going to get me to a solution. That night Jesus came over me to heal some of the ugly places that I’d been storing up over the last few days.
When I woke up the next morning, I was prompted to reach out to my neighborhood, which has a vibrant neighborhood Facebook page. People post what is needed and like magic, the need is filled. Honestly, I often refer to Greenbriar as living within the book of Acts, where the community cared for one another and shared whatever they had.
I boldly wrote, “I know this is a long shot but I need some help.” I said I was looking for a camper, a small trailer, or some solution where my son could live for a few weeks until we figured this virus thing out. My expectations were low but within a half-hour, a woman I didn’t know offered me an empty condo within the neighborhood. No payment was needed if we just paid utilities.
WHAT??? I was speechless.
After texting back and forth, where I oozed gratitude, I asked her how she was able to be so generous. She said she had just purchased the condo as an investment but when everything shut down, the renovation was halted and flipping it as a rental was now delayed. She had been wondering if some hospital worker or other essential worker was in need of it but she didn’t know anyone until she saw my plea.
Move-in is this week and we are so grateful and undeserved of such an answer to a simple “help me” prayer. I don’t know anything about this woman named Sarah yet because we haven’t met and I don’t know if she knows Jesus but her generous nature has blessed the socks off this family.
Have you been blessed by someone during this season of COVID-19? Maybe it was a neighbor? A friend? Someone from the church?
I’ve told you my story. I hope you will tell me yours because our stories are so important right now.
They encourage. They bless. They give hope.
And we could all use a little more hope!
