I never could have imagined what 1,200-plus pounds of milk would look like before last week.
But let me assure you that it is … a … lot … of … milk!
It fills the back seat of an F-150 pickup AND the back bay of a minivan.
Or it fills about a dozen grocery shopping carts, if that’s a more illustrative analogy for you!
Either way, trust me, it’s a lot of milk! … Especially when you’re loading it and unloading it in subzero temperatures.
But, when Churches United Chief Compliance Officer Ginny Stoe and I saw the Aldi employee pull up an entire pallet of milk at the loading door of the store, we couldn’t have been more joyful to load cold jugs of milk in arctic weather.
You see, this could only have been a God moment. Let me share …
A day earlier, I had received an email from another Sue Baron, who runs another local organization battling homelessness: Golden Drive Homeless Kids.
Sue asked me if we could use “some” 1 gallon jugs of milk. I checked with our Dorothy Day Food Pantry folks, and they confirmed our milk shelves were completely empty. … We indeed could use some milk!
A day later, Sue shared the details, and Ginny and I rolled up on an Aldi store in Fargo, only to leave with 1,200-plus pounds of milk. … So much milk, I couldn’t even tell you how many gallons it was. I just know it was dozens.
And, that my friends, is how the Holy Spirit works here in our world at Churches United. Just when things seem bleak, just when we think we’re hitting a setback … the Holy Spirit delivers.
Funding is on the brink. … The community shows up.
The milk shelves at the pantry are empty. … We receive an email from Sue.
The emergency shelter’s kitchen is running low on staples. You know coffee, sugar, milk, eggs. …. A donor appears out of the blue to provide.
I am reminded daily about the small and BIG miracles that take place around our organization literally every day.
We’re not flush at Churches United. We scrap and strategize and stretch our dollars. We count on volunteer hands aplenty. … And then we trust. … There’s a whole lot of trust.
And each and every day our community shows up.
We receive a much-needed financial donation in the mail or online. There’s a youth group that shows up to help cook and serve a meal for more than the hundred people we feed at each setting. Or someone with some spare time to give shows up on our doorstep and asks, “What needs to be done?”
This is our world in a nutshell … day in and day out. We have needs; we trust; and our community provides.
This gets done because of every individual who gives of their time, talents or treasure. And we are grateful for every gift!
You got milk to give? … We’ll come get it rain or shine … or in subzero weather! I promise!
Thank you for your continued support of Churches United! Every gift counts!
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