Say “Yes” to the Blessing
We had walked through our season of having a very open home, with multiple families and children living with us….
And then we were led into a much cherished reprieve from houseguests…
So when my friend, Melanie, that faithful girl who cleans my kitchen EVERY Sunday after Shalom Night, needed a place to stay, I’m ashamed to say I wasn’t too quick to offer our home.
My kitchen is an EXPLOSION after 40-50 people eat in it each Sunday night. Melanie diligently and humbly cleans it all up while I’m running the kids program. She never complains, and never demands attention for it.
We had known for many weeks that she would be losing her apartment. The crook who rented it to her didn’t actually own it, but rather walked off with her and her boyfriend’s money, only to have the real owner show up and wonder why on earth several of the units of the boarded up complex actually had tenants in them.
We prayed together over and over again that God would provide a place for her and her one year old son.
And it never dawned on me that I might be the answer to those weeks of praying.
The boyfriend left, leaving her all alone, and thus opening the door for our home to be the answer to those prayers.
The Holy Spirit had been prompting me about this but my selfish comfort-loving self didn’t want the “inconvenience” of having one or two (or 4…eventually) more people to worry about. Wasn’t my own brood enough?
Then, one night Danny showed up, after having dropped off food to her at the apartment she would need to be leaving within a week, and crawled into bed and said,
“Kimberly, when we were over there praying for her, I felt like God said, “Melanie needs to live with you.”
I just mumbled a hesitant, “I know….He’s been telling me the same thing.”
The next day, as I bustled about my housework, I specifically heard these words…
“I’m trying to bless you, Kimberly.”
And despite my flesh, I said “Yes” in faith.
I said “Yes” to the blessing.
So we called Melanie and told her she was moving in with us, and that extra room that we renovated for this very reason was moved into.
And God blessed me.
God blessed me with a friend and companion who is so playful and fun….
who made me laugh, and helped me laugh with my kids again, and brought out the fun Kimberly…the one who was always there…but just was buried under the I’m-drowning-in-the-needs-of-six-kids-and-all-the-housework-and-all-the-ministry-that-happens-here.
What a friend I have been blessed with…
He blessed me with a friend who is AMAZING at housework, who gets my kitchen clean in a third of the time it takes me to.
He blessed me with a friend who would keep me on task and helps me work til the task is done.
He blessed me with a friend who would just jump in and do laundry for me.
He blessed me with a friend who would remind me, “Can we pray together, Ms. Kimberly?”.
He blessed me with a friend who requested weekly Bible studies, that got us both into the Word, to refresh and redirect both of us.
He blessed me with a friend whose diligence and perseverance and faithfulness were an incredible example to me.
This girl is one of the hardest workers I have met. It convicts me.
He blessed me with a friend whose humility and teachability and patience were an inspiration to me.
Having Melanie live with us these past few months has been one of the richest blessings I have experienced while living here in Grove Park. Having her daughter spend some of the weeks with us, and then her teenage son and nephew, made our home a fun filled place.
Her recruiting her five nieces to come to Shalom Nights added extra hands in the kitchen and extra kids to the kids ministry.
This young woman has had a hard life, and more setbacks than I could fathom. But she is truly a diamond in the rough. A treasure I have found. A beauty I have relished.
My friend and kitchen buddy
And now, she moves on to her own apartment. Her very first one that is completely in her name and under her care. And as she embarks into this responsibility she requested that our church members come and pray over it. To give it to the Lord. To consecrate it to His purposes.
We gathered in Melanie’s new apartment to pray over it Monday night.
The neighborhood kids all wanted to know what we were doing there. And then they ask if they could come.
So the kids joined us for the prayer meeting…and behaved better than my own kids
So we gathered that Monday evening, rolling into an apartment complex where kids were everywhere and the neighbors all lounged outside. We rolled in, sticking out like a sore thumb. And evidently our Nissan NV and my purse sitting behind the seats did too. So much so that this happened.
Someone busted into our car and stole my purse. But that’s a whole other blog post….
But despite the setback, she moved into her apartment today. And although we’ve been able to gather items for her new household, she is in need of many more things. So, if you, by chance, live in the Atlanta area, and can transport items to us, please check out this sign-up genius, and you might just have an extra item or two that could help make her very first legitimate apartment truly a home to her, and a place where she can minister to others.
Sign up to support Melanie! Click Here
