Grace and Grit

'Twas the night before Christmas... and they were praying for YOU. My Christmas Eve is just coming to a close. It's been one busy day trying to balance time between the shelter and family, but it has been a fantastic day full of tradition, joy, and reflection. At the shelter this evening we attended a candlelight Christmas Eve service. I had never been to one at this church before. For those of you that don't know I recently transferred to another shelter location (still with The Sheepfold but now a different city). I have been adjusting to all the changes and now feel settled into this new home. The service was beautiful and rich with meaning as we reflected on the significance of the best gift we could ever receive, Jesus. It is especially intriguing for our moms to think of God choosing to enter the world as a baby...who had a mother who changed His diapers, watched Him learn to walk, talk, and introduced Him to the world that He created. After church we came ho...

Personally, Christmas is my favorite holiday and I love that the season seems to stretch from Thanksgiving to New Years. The longer the better! I'm always the last one to throw out the tree. :-) I've already spent weeks listening to Christmas songs and developing a strategy of how best to string up my lights. But for many of the women and children that enter The Sheepfold's doors Christmas has not been something they have looked forward to each year. Christmas has been just another day to feel alone, neglected, wounded, and broken. Last Saturday a group of 5 adults came to the shelter for a couple hours. That's not unusual as there are frequent volunteers and interns who sacrifice their time to invest in the lives of our moms and their children. But this group brought a little something extra with their hearts full of love. They brought our house a live Christmas tree, lights, a cake, carols, and the Christmas story. They spent their time jumping right in and ...