On special days like Mother's Day when families gather together to give thanks and celebrate, this widow said that she "usually just closes the door and the blinds and waits for the day to pass." Mother's day is particularly hard for her because she has been all alone for so long and always feels the deep pain of having lost her only son many years ago.
BUT GOD, is faithful to His word and has proven Himself to be the Defender of the widow, close to the brokenhearted and gracious to set the lonely in families!
So, this year on Mother's day this precious widow says that she will smile with joy and her heart will be warm because God has placed her in the Abiding Hearts family.
We were so thankful and blessed by this testimony so we just had to share it !!!!
God is so so good!

We all have a story, a journey uniquely our own, beautifully designed by our loving God.
Through God's grace Abiding Hearts Home Care Ministry serves many widowed and sick people from diverse walks of life and we have the privilege of sharing with you some of
THEIR stories

Ms. A:  My grandmother always took us to church. It was so important to her that we go to church and she always had us there. As far back as I can remember my faith was just a part of my life. Somehow I just knew that it was where I belonged and it is where I wanted to be. I just always figured that God had put that into my heart, gave me that disposition and made me want to pursue peace and what was right."
Life Scripture: Psalm 23

Ms. P:  I was sprinkled as a little girl and then in my twenties I started going to a church. Just me and my son went because my husband would not go with me. I really liked the preacher there and the way he preached the Bible. I was baptized in that church and my son was baptized with me. For me, I think that when you hit your knees your just ready to go, to completely surrender.

Mr. G:  I was saved when I was 10 years old. My mother had witnessed to me one morning before going to church and she told me about my sin and my need for Christ Jesus. I thought about it all day and that Sunday night when they gave the alter call I was the first one to come forth. I asked Jesus to come into my life.
Life Scripture: Romans 8:18

Ms. N:  My daddy and my aunt always took us to the temple all the time. We grew up in old town Jerusalem and I have always known about Yahweh. As a little bitty girl I was taught to always give thanks for everything: our health, our home, our food, our family, our clothes, everything. Without God, without Jesus, we have nothing. Always, always I believe in Jesus.

We praise God for all of our ministry partners! We especially want to say thank you to Josh and Bill with Metro Changers. We prayed and prayed that God would send someone to help us provide a new bathroom for our friends because the old one was dangerous and unacceptable with large holes in the floor and walls. The bathtub was literally falling though the floor. For two unhealthy, elderly people you can imagine the risk and dangers that this subjected them to.
This was a beautiful picture of the Body of Christ taking care of and meeting the needs of the Body of Christ!

ABOVE: NORTHPARK BAPTIST CHURCH SMALL GROUP CAROLING AND
DELIVERING GIFTS & MEALS

ABOVE and BELOW: 
HAPPY FACES RECEIVING CHRISTMAS BASKETS DONATED BY ANOTHER SMALL GROUP FROM NORTHPARK BAPTIST CHURCH AND SEVERAL ANONYMOUS SUPPORTERS

ABOVE:  MOUNTAINTOP COMMUNITY CHURCH SMALL GROUP CAROLING AND DELIVERING GIFTS & MEALS

THIS IS JUST A SMALL GLIMPSE OF HOW THE KINGDOM IS ADVANCING, GOD IS BEING GLORIFIED AND LIFE-on-LIFE DISCIPLESHIP IS TAKING PLACE. WE WILL SHARE MORE REFLECTIONS AND UPDATES SOON! THERE IS SO MUCH TO SHARE!
PRAISE GOD WITH US FOR ALL THAT HE IS AND ALL THAT HE DOES!

Mr. D shares his  reflections of 1 John 4:13 we know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit:  "What this means in my life is that I hear the voice of truth guiding me in a direction that is contrary to the direction that I would choose to go. Instead of listening for the voice of truth, some people follow their goose bumps or their common sense." Mr. G consistently proclaims " we can trust in the One who rules and is Lord over heaven and earth, and he says "I pause to say thanks many times for Randy and his wife and what they have done for us and their continuous efforts to help us." We praise God for bringing Mr. G into our life and we are so excited for the opportunity to grow in God's Word together! Please pray for our time in the word to be glorifying to God and transforming for us.

 

Ms. B wants all of our Home-made, made with love meals volunteers to know "that it is truly a blessing to receive all of the delicious meals that are being prepared every week. Every one of them are so special and you just have no idea how much it means to me that you would serve me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart!"

NOBODY likes to eat alone, especially day after day after day. Eventually the desire to eat fades away. What we really hunger for is fellowship! God created us to be in relationship with Him and with one another. The widow, sick and elderly friends we serve are home-bound and isolated from community, from the Church=the Body of Christ. Most of them are malnourished for two primary reasons which the Lord has allowed us to see: 1. they have very limited access to healthy food and 2. they have lost the desire to eat. Its not that they are not hungry. They are hungry! But, they have become so dejected spiritually and deep down inside they hunger for a greater need. That need is to be loved and cared, to be remembered and thought about. Listen to the plea of this friend, "Why doesn't the Church fix meals for the sick anymore? When I first got sick someone from the Church brought me meals, but after a little while they stopped coming." Disease, disability, aging, struggles and hardships continued and became the reality of everyday life for this woman, but commitment and care from the Church did not. The Lord allowed us to see an area of ministry in which the Church can better reflect the love of Christ, and we are EXHORTED all throughout scripture to do better. We were inspired to reach out to the Body to ask them to come alongside us in preparing home-made/made-with love meals.
The widow, sick and elderly friends we serve want to be a part of the Body of Christ. They do not want to be part of a program, or to be a project. They want to be a part of a family, the family of God! In the Bible we are told that He prepares a table for us and that we will all feast together with Him in Heaven. We are so thankful for those of you who have partnered with us in being His hands and His feet and reflecting His heart to the least of these! We have the great privilege of serving the home-made/made-with love meals, engaging the widow, sick and elderly with fellowship as they actually eat the meals,and then watching the Kingdom of God advance as they are encouraged in the faith!