In Dec of 2019, I moved to Lavon to be near family, after living for 40+ years in Houston. I knew it would be a big change, but I believed that God was prompting me to make the change at that time. I just didn’t know how big the change would be for me – and everyone else. And then, the pandemic! 5 months of being mostly by myself, with once a week (safe) visits with family, really gave me time for prayer and reflection on God, and “settling in”. And reading and listening to the news. Listening (or trying to) to God, and listening to the news – and, to be honest, going a bit stir crazy after 5 months convinced me that I needed to do SOMETHING to help others. And maybe even meet other like-minded people who felt the same way. People who were living out their faith by serving others. One of the churches I had been virtually attending was Chase Oaks – a church that believes in actively partnering with organizations in the community to “be here for good”. Amazing Grace is one of the organizations they partner with – and was relatively close to me. I had contributed food and money to food pantries before, but never worked in one, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I found was a well run pantry, with a core group of hard-working people who believe in serving others. Not only do they feed their bodies, but they believe in feeding their souls – with dignity and hope. And I found a purpose, and a group of people who became like family!
