This is a story about an humble woman wanting more not just for herself and her family, but wanting to do so much more for those suffering around her. She knows the pain of poverty. She knows the frustration she sees in the eyes of others who are always dollars short from taking better care of their own health, and the health of their family. She knows why some make bad decisions in order to just try to survive another day while watching others thriving with resources.
This story is about a mom who barely makes enough for herself and her family, but she will put herself out using her time and her car to help others who also suffer from the challenges of not having enough money, and struggling every day to keep food on the table, and doing their best to look after their family. Not being too far removed from poverty challenges herself, she has just about run her car to death. She goes out of her way to see that other moms keep their appointments with housing people, getting food, and looking for the social services needed to maintain their family. Her car has kept some families from total frustration by her arranging her schedule to make sure a mom can continue meeting with people just to find a place to live since the boyfriend can’t seem to find a job because of his past.
This story today is about how this mother has used her car to make sure someone suffering from poverty worst than herself can keep going by finding places where another mom can get some food when resources run low from social services who cannot keep up with the demand of families needing food.
Recently, this mom who also works hard to make sure her husband can get to ER from yet another health challenge, knowing the car could stop at any moment. She prays that her car holds up while taking her two teen-age daughters to yet another school function while juggling the need for car repairs against the need for food and/or to make sure the rent is paid on time. While working, getting her husband to work, and getting the daughters to school events, she is concerned about what will happen to her and her family when the car finally stops. She has been stopped by the police when they noticed that her car needed a current registration. She wanted to get the registration, but her family also needed food, others needed transportation to find resources, and the car had to have gas and oil. Why are older cars so expensive to maintain?
Sometimes this mom cries. She is going to school in order to prepare herself for a better job. By working hard on her homework, she has managed to make the Dean’s List at her college. She is happy about that, but knows that she needs to get more rest if she is to keep her grades up. Good grades equates to completing some of her educational goals, plus it is an inspiration to her own teen-age daughters. Maybe if she can graduate and find a better job elsewhere, or be promoted at the fast-food job where is now training for management, she can make enough money to get the car fixed. So many things on the car are failing; now she needs about $3,000 just to ensure that all the mechanical items get fixed before the car finally quits.
The phone rings while she is preparing dinner and encouraging her girls to do their homework without the assistance of computers. It’s ER again; her husband has passed another critical episode—she can come and pick him up. She leaves the girls again at night, knowing that they are being socially and academically drained without the aid of computers, but keeping a roof over their heads and keeping the car running overshadows that as she goes out the door again to the ER, thinking about a friend who needs a ride to get her housing voucher tomorrow. The car is slow to start. She prays. Maybe someone has an older SUV in good condition that they would like to get a tax deduction on. Or, maybe someone with mechanical skills would be willing to donate such skills to keep this car running, As she pulls out of the drive-way, she thinks: about making the Deans List. Not to bad for a struggling mom, working a full-time job, and going to school almost full-time! Well, at least the car started again.
AS YOU FINISH READING THIS STORY, CONSIDER USING YOUR CONTACTS TO KEEP THIS MOTHER IN SCHOOL BY MAKING SURE SHE GETS A BETTER CAR, OR HELPING GETTING THE GIRLS SOME CLOTHES, AND MAYBE A COUPLE OF COMPUTERS. OR, MAYBE YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO COULD KEEP A VERY OLD CAR RUNNING LIKE NEW!
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