Nicknames

I've got good memories and bad ones, too, of nicknames that have been stuck on me like crazy glue. Most, mercifully, I've forgotten. Then, like a blast from the past, a sibling lovingly sneaks one into a conversation...

I've recently acquired a new nickname, at least at Welcome Home.
Several of the Columbian guys have decided my name should be "Shar-ita".
We have a plethora of "Sharons" creating community at Welcome Home and I DO have the distinction of being the most vertically challenged. I like to think, however, that this diminutive ending is a token of affection.
If so, then celebrate, because God is answering prayer and pouring out his love amongst us!

Little is much!

I've been watching the corn start to sprout in the fields I whiz by on my bike...
It's amazing to see new life popping through the soil and almost 'growing before my very eyes'!
As I ride (training for the Ride 4 Refugees, actually), I think about the lessons to be learned. How a seed must die to multiply, the miracles of new life, and the incrementality (is that a word?) of much of our lives.

Flakes of snow falling every day for a week makes a pile to shovel. A dandelion that goes to seed results in a colourful array on my lawn- and my neighbour's- in no time at all. An act of kindness one day, plus another act of kindness the next day, help form a loving relationship.

This week I met with an answer to prayer! Joyce is our new "housing expert". God is amazing in the ways He provides for us. Helping a resident find a home to move to after their year at Welcome Home may seem like a small thing, but when it's part of a community effort to demonstrate compassionate justice to a refugee, it means a lot. And, if you're a refugee preparing to launch out on your own after a year in the Welcome Home community, it's a BIG deal!

I've been inviting friends, family, hey-anyone who will listen:)- to join my team of supporters. I often hear the apologetic response, "I can only commit such a small amount". Of course, I'd love to receive those 4, 5, and 6 figure donations. But, isn't it amazing that in God's economy, whatever is given is exactly what is needed? Makes me think of a ditty I learned as a child- "little is much if God is in it!"

Thank you for praying, for caring, for sharing your resources so generously. I can't wait to see how God will multiply everything we have given together! And, if you'd like to join my team...