I met Tina* when I visited the House of Hope for the first time. I had followed one of the coworkers upstairs and Tina, just a few years my junior, smiled at me and allowed me to hold her tiny and sweet one-week-old baby girl. No questions asked as to who I was or what I was doing there. It was hard to believe Tina had just given birth. She was a skinny girl with an active temperament and liked to keep the place clean to stay busy. She was always cheerful when I saw her, quick to return my smiles and answer my questions about how she and the baby were doing. I didn't get to spend much time with her (it seems like every time I go to HisHands I do something different), but I was always impressed by her testimony. Even if I didn't know her before she became saved, I knew that God was working in her heart and changing her gradually.
Yesterday was her last day to stay at the House of Hope. Her departure came unexpectedly for all of us, but perhaps owing to her more impetuous and quick-to-act nature, she decided it was time for her to leave and go back home. As she was preparing to leave, she was talking to another young mother about what God was teaching her--how forgiveness is one of the hardest things taught in the Bible, and how God would speak to her in her Bible-reading. She even caught herself in mid-sentence about one of the other girls, saying, "I'm going to stop saying negative things about other people--the Bible says we shouldn't do that. Why is it that the Bible always says not to do the very things we want to do?" She went on to remark to the other mother about how the babies in the nursery at HisHands are different--"God's blessing is on them. Remember how Lila used to like to fuss and get upset all the time? Now she doesn't. And how Sam was always lazy and didn't exercise, but now slowly he's learning to? Babies that live with Jesus are just different."
And not just the babies are different. There was a certain distinction with Tina that I didn't see in the other mothers. Last week I had asked her when she became a Christian. She told me that it was about a month ago--and I could already see that she was growing so much. When she looked up the exact date on her phone, it was not even yet one month--about the same time that her baby was born. What a precious reminder of the gift of God's grace to her! Perhaps that is why she wanted to include the word "Grace" in her new baby's name.
She is a brave girl, that one. We are sad to see her go, but we do know that God will keep her and her baby safe, as He has promised to keep His children always in His own Hands. <3
Yesterday was her last day to stay at the House of Hope. Her departure came unexpectedly for all of us, but perhaps owing to her more impetuous and quick-to-act nature, she decided it was time for her to leave and go back home. As she was preparing to leave, she was talking to another young mother about what God was teaching her--how forgiveness is one of the hardest things taught in the Bible, and how God would speak to her in her Bible-reading. She even caught herself in mid-sentence about one of the other girls, saying, "I'm going to stop saying negative things about other people--the Bible says we shouldn't do that. Why is it that the Bible always says not to do the very things we want to do?" She went on to remark to the other mother about how the babies in the nursery at HisHands are different--"God's blessing is on them. Remember how Lila used to like to fuss and get upset all the time? Now she doesn't. And how Sam was always lazy and didn't exercise, but now slowly he's learning to? Babies that live with Jesus are just different."
And not just the babies are different. There was a certain distinction with Tina that I didn't see in the other mothers. Last week I had asked her when she became a Christian. She told me that it was about a month ago--and I could already see that she was growing so much. When she looked up the exact date on her phone, it was not even yet one month--about the same time that her baby was born. What a precious reminder of the gift of God's grace to her! Perhaps that is why she wanted to include the word "Grace" in her new baby's name.
She is a brave girl, that one. We are sad to see her go, but we do know that God will keep her and her baby safe, as He has promised to keep His children always in His own Hands. <3
*not her real name
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