“For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.” —Psalm 27:5
We raided my mother’s linen closet for sheets and blankets to build a tent outside in the yard. My sister Missy and I planned to sleep out in our makeshift dwelling beneath a large maple tree. Mom rarely used a clothes line, but she had one strung way in the back of the yard between that beautiful maple and the biggest mulberry tree I had ever seen. The sagging cord of the clothes line provided the center line for our tent. Many challenges came with constructing our mis-matched, misshapen structure—actually there was very little structure to it—and after what seemed like hours, it was complete.
After capturing fireflies—we called them lightening bugs—in a jar for ambiance, and gathering snacks, flashlights, and games to keep us occupied, we made our beds on the ground. Once it got dark we were ready for our first summer campout under the stars. We had a lot of vacations at the Jersey shore, but we never went camping, so this was truly a new adventure and we had wild imaginations.
It was very exciting at first. As the night wore on though, the east coast humidity was making everything damp and sticky, the heat was unbearable. The ground beneath our thin sheets grew harder and less comfortable, and the mosquitos were attracted to our flashlights and our flesh. This particular evening seemed darker than usual and the nocturnal creatures were making scary noises that sounded too close for comfort.
It was all too much to bear and didn’t take us long before we abandoned our tent for the shelter of our home. Our mom knew us all too well and was expecting us to come indoors to seek comfort. If memory serves me, we made a new fort out of the bottom bunk of our bunkbeds—so all was not lost and the adventure continued.
Fast forward (a lot of years)… My boys are true Boy Scouts, they love to camp. When they don’t have the opportunity to camp outside under the stars, they set up pop-up tents in the house and pretend. A pile of boxes also make for a cool fort, and blankets and pillows provide extra space and luxury. They can and have built forts out of everything, including snow. It’s in our human nature to want to create shelter, even when its for fun.
Last year, Alec, my youngest son, went to a week long Boy Scout Camp for the first time. He had never camped overnight without his dad and was pretty nervous about being away for a whole week, but his brother Spencer was with him and supported him. The first night at camp was okay and everyone survived (the heat, the mosquitos, and the dark), but the second night was a complete disaster. A tornado blew through the camp. This California boy had only heard of tornados and they scared him tremendously. Alec, being homesick as it was, was stuck in dank emergency shelter during the tornado with a bunch of other frightened, emotional boys.
After the drama subsided, he begged to come home—that night and every night for the rest of the week—but we all insisted that the boys tough it out until the end. They did, and they survived despite all of the tears. I don’t know if the counselors will ever be the same though…
What if you can’t go home? What if my sister and I had to live through the trials of that night in our blanket tent all those years ago? What if Boy Scouts didn’t have that emergency shelter during the storm? What if Alec didn’t have a home to come home to at the end of the week? What if you don’t have the money to have a home to call your own? What if home is not safe?
“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” —Matthew 25:40
There are countless people who do not have a place to call home, or a even have a safe home. To them, all is lost. Many of these unfortunate people are women, so many of them have children. This is not your typical “Mother’s Day” story, but these mothers are often forgotten on this special day and we are called to ‘help the least of these.’
Messiah Women’s Ministries is focusing our attention on mothers in need—women with children in shelters who don’t have a place to call home. Our Messiah Women in Mission is dedicating the month of May to supporting mothers in the family shelter at People’s City Mission by collecting much needed items for women and babies.
The People City Mission Family Shelter is dedicated to the needs of homeless families and women experiencing some form of personal crisis. The PCM Family Shelter offers guests a safe, warm atmosphere that promotes recovery, self-sufficiency, and independent living. It also serves as a place of refuge for battered women and children.
While honoring our own mothers this month of May, I personally call on my sisters in Christ to help ‘the least of these’ by donating personal items and giving encouragement to those mothers in crisis. If you are not in Lincoln, I pray you will consider finding a mother in need in your area and honoring her with encouragement and something she needs.
“For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.” —Psalm 27:5
