When bad things happen to good people, the true test of your character is how you handle it.  Anne has had her fair share of bad things.  She is one tough woman.  She was searching for something to light her path.  Her young children were in elementary school when she discovered it was her turn to be put through the flames.

Cervical and breast cancer had hit her.  She was going to need chemotherapy.  To make matters worse, throughout this process, she was getting divorced.  Now a single, working mom, going through seemingly insurmountable health issues, she was facing a life she never imagined.  She found Buses n Backpacks through the elementary school her children attended.  She couldn’t feed her family and they walked into her life.  Light number one.  Her family received food and prayer.  It was not the solution to her problems, but it was a good start. 

Some time had passed.  She had continued with Buses N Backpacks.  She often visited the office and was met with people who were willing to hear her story and allow her just vent.  She said that each one of them asked her to come to church, they prayed for her, they shared some of their stories with her, and they genuinely cared about what she was going through.  They even helped her find work.  At one point in time, she was involved in an abusive relationship and when she visited the office, someone was able to relate their story with hers.  Giving her courage.

Then the bottom began to drop out. She had heart failure, was laid off from her job due to her health, and lost her home.  The truth behind this story does not lie with the many tragedies that struck Anne.  Those are just details.   It lies with her desire to forge through and stand up during these times to do what she needed to care for her family.   She had children that she needed to be a mother to.  She said her faith has been tested over and over again.  She has not found a church home just yet, but she has felt the pull to go.   These people in this ministry cared for her the way God cares for His church.  The people and situations we encounter in our lives are not put there by chance.  Although Anne commitment to a church waivers, the seeds of God’s word have been placed on her heart and she heard them.  They visited her in the hospital and continued to pray for her.

The holidays were approaching and she sat wondering how she was going to even put dinner on the table, much less buy presents and provide a holiday meal.  Light number two.  This woman who was fighting for her life and fighting just to get food stamps to eat now had the blessing of a turkey dinner to offer her family for Christmas.  She recalled that during that Christmas, her son wanted a bike and they needed new jackets.  She had no way of providing any presents for her children much less a bike.  Buses n Backpack caught wind of this and sure enough, her son got a bike and a jacket.  They also provide them with other gifts.  She was grateful for any little bit and that holiday, she found the light she was searching for. 

Buses n Backpacks has walked beside her through times when anyone else may have given up.  During times she thought they would go hungry, they were given food.  During times her faith was tested, her spirit was uplifted. 

 Sounds a lot like God at work.