A Friend for Michael
My middle son Michael had difficulty making friends. He was kind of a nerd. He inherited that from his parents. I began to pray for a friend for Michael. I thought I would leave that up to God to bring a friend into his life. In my mind this friend would be from a middle class family with Christian values. I wanted a family like us.
Along came Chris, a beautiful boy with blond hair and big blue eyes and a sweet smile. He started hanging out with Michael. I noticed that his clothes were often torn and he needed a bath and a haircut. Michael looked the same. Eight year old boys are not noted for good hygiene, so I did not dwell on it. He became a regular at our house.
One day it was raining, so I drove him home. He lived at the trailer park on the other side of town. Their trailer was the worst one in the park. The porch was covered with trash and recycling. He lived with four brothers, three dogs, and two birds. The driveway had three vehicles; only one looked road worthy. I realized his family was not like us, but I did not care. Michael and I both liked Chris because he was always polite and respectful.
Michael invited Chris and his brothers to our church youth program. The church always served a meal and had a Bible lesson. The youth leaders noted that Chris and his brothers always ate three helpings of food, including vegetables! We started sending the left over food home with Chris. Once we overheard his little brother say “Now we have food for tomorrow too.” We (the youth leaders) realized that this family was in trouble, so we rounded up our resources.
God opened our eyes to the needs of this family. We knew we needed to help them. Although we were only a church of 100 people, God provided coats, boots, hats, toys, clothes, a full food pantry and enough money to pay their electric bill!
The boys moved in with their grandparents who lived in the same trailer park. The church continued to give support.
Chris is now 13 and a regular at our house. He still lives with his grandparents in a big house with a nice yard. His grandparents are now members of our church, who help with our youth program. When we offer them assistance, they request we give it to another family.
My sister is a missionary who has served in Mexico, Japan and Russia. I am a missionary too, but I never left town.
Jennifer