Giving Back

I had a really neat meeting this evening. I met with one of our Habitat Partner Families who is also one of our newest home owners. We closed on her home in December. It was so cool because we had the meeting at her new Habitat home. It is beautiful! I was thinking about how much life must have changed for this family in the past month as they made the move from substandard housing to a safe, decent, and affordable home.
The reason I was meeting with her was because she has volunteered to mentor one of our newly approved Partner Families as a Family Advocate. She will journey with this family who is just beginning their journey with Habitat.
I am so excited about this because very few of our Partner Families ever come back and volunteer with Habitat after they close on their homes. I guess they think that they have done their part and they are now done with Habitat except to pay their mortgage payments. And while we don't expect our home owners to volunteer with us, it sure is great when they want to come back and volunteer with Habitat just to support our ministry and mission.
After meeting with this home owner, I had a real sense that she was wanting to pay it forward. She wanted to give back to Habitat out of a sense of gratitude for the opportunity that she has been given. As I talked with her, I found my heart filled with thanksgiving for her willingness to share her experience and support with another family. I also found myself feeling grateful to God for being a part of such a wonderful ministry.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!