Written By: Crystal Russell
Luke 6:32-35 – If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
It’s my birthday weekend and my husband, who is currently deployed planned a surprise adventure for me and my friend from high school to do together. He knows me so well. And so does my friend because she invited me to do missionary work right here in our city! It was only a few miles away from my home, so why not serve a family in need the morning of my surprise adventure?
My friend called me a few days before the “big adventurous surprise” and said, “Ok, here is the deal. There’s this mom whose five kids are in the foster care system and her case is closing. She has to meet these last few things in order to get her kids back.” One of those requirements was to get a room in her mobile home ready to receive her five kids. So my friend said in her direct, yet ever so enthusiastic tone, “What do you think if we went and helped set up this bedroom for her babes to be reunited with their mama?”
My answer without any hesitation was, absolutely!
My friend is a guardian ad litem (a person who acts as an advocate for children who are in the foster care system). Children are minors so they can’t represent themselves in court, so in order for them to have a voice a guardian ad litem will serve as an advocate on their behalf.
My friend had already collected mattresses, sheets, bunk beds and car seats. She just needed a crib and a toddler bed. To help, I called a foster care closet here in the Tampa area and immediately, they were able to track down a toddler bed. Within only a few hours we were able to secure everything we needed.
People are amazing and I am so blessed by their quick action! I’ve never met them nor will I, yet they were willing to help this mama and her kiddos during their time of need. God provides!
Ok, now the day arrives and my friend picks me up. She gives me the “deets” of the situation and what our plan of action is for the morning (set up the bunk beds, put together the crib; basically get the room ready for the kids to return home)
Alright, we arrive and meet the grandma and grandpa who are willing to open their mobile home to their five grandkids to help their daughter out. We are shown the room and let me tell you, nothing could have prepared us for what was about to greet us in that tiny 8×10 space. It is literally filled with boxes upon boxes of clothes, toys, garbage, and critters of all kind!
We pause, compose ourselves, and then go into “turbo charge mode” — we were two Latinas on a mission.
We assess the room and make a plan. Like two determined backhoe operators, we begin to move stuff into dedicated piles until we finally clear enough space to put the bunk beds in. Grandma is missing a leg and moving about in a wheelchair. Grandpa had “something else” to do that day and left for the day. Oh, and the mom of the five kids who we were helping….“missing in action.” Hmm… that just left me and my friend to clean this place up and, let me tell you, we were determined to make this happen!
Then mom strolls into the room, says hello and then excuses herself for her morning cigarette break. When she comes back in, I’m thinking she is going to roll up her sleeves and work along side of us. Nope. Now she has to get her morning coffee. Some time goes by and she checks in on us to tell us she is going for another cigarette break. Although I’m not saying anything in the moment, it is burning within me how this woman can have no determination to get her children back – literally cleaning this room was all that was between her and getting her kiddos!
She stays a while this time and begins to clear out a few drawers at a snail’s pace, reminiscing on each article of clothing she picks up. Meanwhile, my friend and I are clearing out other parts of the room at rapid speed, throwing out and removing furniture from the room to get ready to build the bunk beds. This goes on for almost three hours!
I’m going to be real with you… I’m starting to get really annoyed. There I am, this complete stranger with no ties to this family what-so-ever and I’m the one clearing out the bedroom so these precious kids can reunite with their momma. Yet, the mom is showing absolutely no inner drive to clear out the bedroom, even though the fate of her kids depends on it!
My energy is starting to fade as my temper is boiling within me. My friend and I pray for supernatural energy and love to continue. Then I realize this is exactly how Jesus loves us! Even though we are all guilty of undervaluing His sacrifice, ignoring the urgency of his call, and under-appreciating the stakes involved, he still went to the cross for us.
I was getting a small picture of what unconditional love looks like. It requires dying to self and focusing on Jesus. It is with supernatural strength we can do supernatural things – like loving those who don’t seem to deserve it. I’m not saying to not have boundaries. There are clear lines between what is someone else’s responsibility and what is yours, but if you choose to love them anyway, do it fully. People are messy and complicated. I know I am not going to get a thank you from her or her kids, but that’s not why I am here, I am loving her because Jesus called me to love my neighbor, and she is my neighbor. The beautiful thing is I know it is not something I can do in my own strength and it’s something I need to depend on Jesus for, and that is a great place to be.
Oh, and after this, my friend and I are going to go zip-lining hundreds of feet in the air!!! That’s my birthday surprise! What a day!
Think of a time when you were working really hard for someone who you felt didn’t deserve your efforts. Now think about how things would have changed had you thought about Jesus’ unconditional love for you when you were acting in a way that was undeserving of His love.
Is there someone in your life right now who could really use Jesus’ unconditional love shining through you?
Written By: Crystal Russell
