Grace and Grit

This season at the shelter has been quite full. We've had a house full of non-typical and difficult cases that have required more from me as a manager than I have ever experienced before. Challenge, although not often sought, is something that God uses to bring me to a place of more dependence on Him. This is definitely true for me this past year. I have transferred houses within the Sheepfold ministry and it has taken much longer to adjust than I thought it would. Every home has its idiosyncrasies so it's been fun and stretching adjusting to new families, coworkers, commute, neighborhood, etc. If I could sum up these past 8 months into a few words I would say: Change brings lots of opportunity to practice fully relying on God...not putting my trust or joy in a person, circumstances, or state of mind. I know this is a really short post and that it doesn't really contain any interesting or useful info. It was just time to start blogging again. God is good. He is showing ...

It's been two months, but I'm back! It began with some soul searching. I asked God to reveal areas that I was fighting Him for control or had given up on, needs I was ignoring, desires and dreams I had thrown away because I saw no progress, stress triggers, why my sleep wasn't restful, why silence was something I tried to avoid, etc. Over the past two months I have been learning how to make time for respite. Respite means an " interval of relief ." It's the calm amidst the storm, the break between semesters, the good night's sleep after a long hard day, the cold glass of water after a walk through the desert, and the hug and loving words of a friend in a crisis. Taken from http://thoughtfulcaregiver.com/ This past season has been a difficult one for me at the shelter. A pregnant mom left us to return to her abuser which, even though I know statistically a woman leaves 7 times before it's for good, it was beyond my comprehension. How can someon...

I am coming to the tail end of my longest shift of the work week. I've been at the shelter since Wednesday afternoon and I will be leaving tomorrow (Friday) morning, after debriefing with the incoming manager. It's always a challenge for me because I start to loose energy around 3 or 4 pm on Thursday, long before bed time. :-) But today was a little different from the normal Thursday running around. This was for several reasons: 1) It's the last day of school and our kids are ecstatic. 2) I spent my morning attending an hour long Kindergarten graduation... I didn't know it was a thing, but it is, complete with diplomas, professional pictures, a slide show, flowers, gifts, etc. 3) A mom who has stayed with us almost a year is moving out (a stay is typically six months so this is unusual and also hard to say goodbye). 4) Our youngest baby of the house has HFMD (Hand Foot and Mouth Disease) 5) The mother of aforementioned baby is a new mom battling some pretty heavy anxie...

"What exactly do you do?" I get asked that question a lot and it's a complicated answer. Sometimes I feel like I would be able to answer more precisely if I could just list what I don't do! Fran, the founder of The Sheepfold, wrote a fantastic book called "The Sheepfold A Living Memorial to the Living God" which details the ministry as well as the beautiful and heart-wrenching story of Fran's life. I am going answer the above question in Fran's own words: Being a house manager requires so many skills. Every experience she has had in her lifetime will be used in her work. It is impossible to list the hundreds of little things that come up. In the shelter her day begins at 7am, cooking breakfast for 10 to 15 women and children... After supervising kitchen clean up, she teaches the daily Bible study, being sensitive to the spiritual needs of the residents who come from all different backgrounds. Then she oversees the housekeeping assignments gi...

So I am in the middle of the longest break I've ever taken from the shelter. Nine consecutive days off feels very strange! I find myself thinking about the moms and kids several times a day and wondering what is happening while I am gone. Has there been conflict? Sickness? Growth? "Aha" moments? Will everyone still be there when I get back? Has anyone found a job? Started school? Has the baby started walking? Is the toddler finally talking? This "job" is so NOT a job to me. I love these people...really love them! It's overwhelming at times to realize just how much of my heart is wrapped up in the shelter. I remember the names and faces of the families who have left and I ache to know they are doing OK. I recently found out one of the moms who left us prematurely has gone back to her abuser along with her children. Ack!! It's so frustrating to hear things like this. The victim of domestic violence lives a complicated life and the process of moving on ...