An assignment from God to help a local women's shelter.

Philippians 2:13 (NLT) - “For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him.”

As children of God, we are all called to do His good work. It is truly a blessing to complete an assignment God has given me, especially when it turns into several more.

Led by the Lord

Almost two years ago an invitation was given to me to attend a breakfast fundraiser for the Alpha House of Tampa, which is a place for pregnant and parenting women in crisis. I was moved and overwhelmed with compassion during this breakfast. I felt led to give a financial donation, but left that day with a tug on my heart. Weeks and months went by and the Lord kept the Alpha House on my heart and finally I realized…God was assigning me a job to do.

After visiting the Alpha House for a “Lunch and Learn” and a touring of the maternity home, I was speechless. Stories were told of women who had been through the most terrifying situations a woman can imagine. Many of the young women who endured violence and abuse by “loved ones” were only teenagers; some had even been homeless, with no where else to turn. Then I heard wonderful success stories of women who had completed Alpha’s program. I saw where these women live and how grateful they are to have a bed to sleep in, food to eat, and a clean, safe environment to call home. I witnessed how warm and caring the staff at Alpha are towards these women and how they provide not only a place to live, but also a family to love them and share their lives with.

My Assignment

The first task the Lord assigned me was to organize a diaper drive at my work with the help of a friend. One might think that it would be awkward to ask people that you work with to give, but the Lord guided my steps and we received an amazing response. We collected over $800 and an abundance of baby items that filled my SUV to the brim. We were delighted and very excited to bring the fruits of our labor to the Alpha House. As the donation room door opened, my heart leapt. We were greeted with towers upon towers of unorganized donations all over the room. I thought to myself, ”Someone needs to put this place in order so the women can actually get to the donations that are here for them!” Then I heard a small voice inside me say, ”You.” Honestly at first, I didn’t think it was possible and I wondered, ”Who would pay to renovate this space? Who has the time to do this?” Again, I heard a still small voice say, ”You.” At this point in my walk with the Lord, I was beginning to understand when He was leading me and actually talking to me. My heart was softened and receptive to the voice of the Lord. I don’t mean I heard an audible voice; it was a voice deep in my soul, it was the Lord guiding me. I left that day with a lot of ideas to work on for this project.

Showing God's Love

In the meantime my friend and I decided it would be great to interact with the women and teach them something fun. The holidays were coming up, so the obvious choice was to teach a baking class! We took them through step by step how to bake chocolate chip cookies and brownies from scratch, and the women really seemed to enjoy themselves. At that moment I knew God wanted me involved with this organization to show these women God’s Love through acts of kindness. The Pastor’s voice, at my sister’s church, rang in my head, ”Show God’s Love in practical ways.” I smiled and knew we were doing just that.

A few weeks later we showed up again with pizza, sweets, hot chocolate, and Christmas movies. We wanted to just hang out with the women and their children and get to know them better. I decided to bring my camera that day and it dawned on me that they probably don’t have cameras to take pictures of their babies in front of the Christmas tree. Many of us take for granted simple things like having Christmas pictures of our children, but these things meant so much to these grateful women. I was blessed to witness how such small gestures of kindness can greatly affect someone’s spirit.