What do you think of when you hear the word resurrection?
Last week, I stopped by Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Auburn to pick up gift cards they had collected for the residents at RGM. The residents will be allowed to shop for clothing with these cards. They will pick out clothes that match their personality and fit comfortably.
Many of us take shopping for our own clothing for granted. Many of us have more clothes than we need. Think about if the only clothing you had access to were from a donation pile. Clothes that were generously donated by thoughtful people, but clothes that might not be a perfect fit or something you would pick out. RGM has been offered so much clothing and we are so grateful. We thought carefully about the parameters of what we would accept and about space and storage. Then we thought of how it feels to not have a choice in what you wear, to not have the dignity of purchasing your own clothes, to be viewed as worthy of only second hand clothing. We knew that it didn’t line up with what we have desired the culture of RGM to be.
From the beginning we have said we want our residents to walk through the door of RGM and feel that they are loved, worthy, and valuable.
After contemplating if donated clothing aligns with those sentiments, we had the crazy idea to ask for gift cards for the women to shop for themselves rather than accept clothing donations. I mentioned the idea to Reverend Goeff Evans and he and his church committed to providing the gift cards.
Once again, God’s generosity overflowed through the Church. When I picked up the cards I was thanking Geoff for his congregation’s outpouring of love. He said something that has stayed with me and transformed my thinking about this ministry. He said, “We are glad to be a part of the women’s “Resurrection Chapter”.
So, what do you think of when you hear the word resurrection?
Miracle, life, joy, excitement, and now clothing are a few of the thoughts that come to my mind.
Resurrection is to bring something back from the dead. The person that God created these women to be had gotten lost somewhere in their past. He is using RGM and you to resurrect them to their new life.
