How many people do we see each day? How many conversations do we have with baristas, friends, co-workers, or customers each day? Now think about how much we actually know about those people. Do we know what they had for breakfast? Do we know if they even had enough food in the house to eat breakfast?
Do we know if they chose to feed their kids before themselves that day because that was a choice they had to make? Chances are, we did not even think about how these people live. Chances are, it did not cross our minds that they might be struggling to provide food for their families.
There are a few professions, however, that do consider these questions while in conversations with others. One of those would be doctors, particularly an OB-GYN. It is their job to look after the health of their patients and their unborn child.
Looking back about 5 years, Tarah, a young mom of four children, walked into her doctor’s office because she had recently become pregnant with her fifth. Tarah and her husband lived in their community for the majority of their adulthood.
They had been raising their family in this community, but the community probably had no idea that they were struggling. They were struggling heavily with their faith, and their finances. They were even struggling to keep their home and to provide food for their four children. These struggles were not something that was apparent to others.
The only other person that was aware of some of the struggles was a social worker at Love INC. Tarah had connected with this social worker to explain what kind of assistance she was looking for. The social worker then enrolled her in the Life Skills Program and reached out to a local church to support Tarah and her family.
On the other hand, during a visit to her doctor, he pointed out that she was continually showing signs of anemia. Her body was not getting enough nutrients to support itself and the baby she was carrying. The doctor questioned this and thought their might have been a deeper medical issue. Why is it that she is struggling to bring nutrients into her body? Is she eating enough?
As the doctor pressed a bit more into this question, Tarah was overcome by her struggles. She immediately broke down and wept in that doctor’s office. The flood gates opened and she told him that she was not able to afford enough food for her family and she fed her children before herself. She could not afford the amount of food she should have been eating and was sacrificing her own health for the wellbeing of her family.
That day, in that office, Tarah’s struggles were brought out of darkness and into the light. The doctor asked if he could reach out to his church to provide groceries for Tarah’s family. “He made it clear that there were no ulterior motives” Tarah explained. The doctor told her that “each day I wake up and ask God to show me a way that I can serve others.” That day, God orchestrated Tarah to be a gift to her doctor and the doctor to be a gift to Tarah.
That same day, a local church delivered several bags of groceries to Tarah’s home. It happened to be the same local church that the Love INC social worker had wanted to reach out to, just days prior, on Tarah’s behalf. The pastor brought the groceries in himself and provided fellowship and compassion to Tarah’s family. He told them the name of his church and that they were always welcome to attend, but he said that the groceries were simply a gift “from us to you.”
It was also in this moment that Tarah’s husband had the realization that they truly did need support because, as Tarah explained, “we had lost everything that we could hold onto. Especially faith, not only in God, but in the community around us and all good things possible.”
Tarah’s family began attending the church, and within the first few visits there was a guest speaker. This speaker just happened to be the current Executive Director of Love INC. From that point on, Tarah’s family has been involved in this church. Tarah sat on committees and started multiple programs at the church. She was also still enrolled in the Life Skills Program at Love INC, working to get her family’s finances back on track.
All throughout this season of rebuilding, Tarah’s faith was restored. God was surely working in her heart to show her and her family who He is. To show her that she was never forgotten or abandoned and she is, and always will be, His daughter.
It is incredible to see the way that God meets us where we are. He sends people into our lives that are doing His work and leads us into His provision. It is incredible to see that a local Doctor was able to see a need and do what he could to meet it. What a beautiful story of God’s promises to never leave us nor forsake us. He is continually working in us and leading us back to him, just like he did for Tarah.
