I'll warn you now, this is my longest blog ever. If you're short on time, save it for another day! I just couldn't find a way to condense it and still convey everything. So, if you have an hour or so...
The Reed clan has been thrust into the spotlight as of late. It has been an exciting whirlwind, and I'm still not exactly sure how it's come to this. Our family is enjoying our little 15 minutes of fame, but ultimately we want to use this to bring glory to our amazing God. He has taken a tiny spark in a tiny heart and has fanned it into something bigger than we could have imagined. Here's the story:
One day in February I sat down to eat lunch with the kids. This in itself was strange...usually as the kids are eating, I make myself something and sneak into the living room to eat in relative peace and quiet. On this particular day the kids asked if I would eat with them. On what felt like a random whim, I said yes and sat down at the table. The 12 o'clock news was on. There was a segment featuring a Lincoln Girl Scout troop that was trying to raise money for The FosterCare Closet. The FosterCare Closet is an organization that provides new and gently used clothing to children of all ages in foster care. It is set up like a boutique, and the children get to "shop" for their own items. These 9 and 10 year old girls had set a huge goal: $9000 which would provide six months of operating expenses. For one second I had a passing thought that maybe we could donate somehow. But honestly, the next second I dismissed the thought entirely. When the segment came to a close, Amana looked at me with wide eyes and said, "Hey Mom, we could do something to help them!" Moved by her generous spirit and desire to help, I took this as confirmation from God to act on the thought I had just dismissed. We could do something to help, but what?
After some thought, I approached Lige with an idea. We would set a family goal, designate 3 chores to be done with a happy heart, and each chore accomplished would earn $2 toward the family goal. We selected cleaning their room, unloading the dishwasher, and putting clothes away. They could also earn $2 bonuses for doing another chore unasked. Lige said it sounded good, and we set a family goal of $100, with one month to reach it. Then Lige suggested sending letters to grandparents and a few others to ask for their help. As a part of her school work, Amana wrote 6 letters explaining what we were doing and why. We have very good friends who are foster parents. Our children have been friends with several different foster kids because of them. Amana refers to these kids as her Foster Friends. I wrote an additional letter to explain what our kids were doing at home to reach their goal. I wanted them to know our kids were working hard at this, not just asking others for money and then taking the credit. Word began to spread to others about what we were doing. I'm humbled and amazed at the response. Many were moved by Amana's heart and decided to join with us in raising money for the Girl Scouts to donate to The FosterCare Closet.
I set up a chart on the refrigerator for Amana and Anlynn to keep track of their chores. I did not expect a 2 year old to "get it", but I quickly found out how wrong I was! Harrison was soon added to the chart with his own chore: put clean silverware away.
Can I just say how fun it was to watch my children do chores willing and happily? They even all found additional chores to be done and earned several bonuses. Even Harrison! It was a delight to see my children work hard with happy hearts to earn money that wasn't even for them!
We contacted the FosterCare Closet to let them know of our plan. We met the director via email. She in turn let the Girl Scout leader know. These are amazing women with a love for Jesus. If I lived in Lincoln, I would want to be friends with both of them. The Girl Scout leader suggested we attend a girl scout meeting when we were ready to donate our money. That way both our family and the girl scout troop could see how one willing heart could accomplish much. We made plans to attend a meeting on Monday, April 12th.
As the meeting approached we made plans to stay with Lige's mom and stepfather in Lincoln. Lige's mom got a few more details from me about the meeting (time/place) and we were all set. Little did I know what she had in mind!
Lige's mom called back and said, "Well, here's what I've done." I thought, "uh oh, what is she talking about?!" She went on to tell me that she had contacted the news station that first aired the segment on the Girl Scout troop to inform them about what Amana and our family had done. She told me they were really interested in the story, but couldn't promise they'd get to it. (Story? I wasn't sure that what we had done qualified as a story, but I continued to listen.) She also went on to say that she had put in a call to the governor's office (She and her husband both work at the capital). She informed me that Amana had an audience with the governor at 11:50 Monday morning. My head was spinning! And I think I was a little in shock. :)
Amana had a great time with Governor Heineman. He was very kind to her and asked her all about our family project. We met in his office and then went into his reception room for pictures and interviews (there were several!). After talking with the governor, Amana was interviewed by the governor's press person. Then the news reporter and camera man from the news station Lige's mom contacted interviewed her. And then a journalist from The Omaha World Herald. Amana held up great under it all. Our daughter who has battled stage fright and shyness answered questions like a pro. She only teared up once, and that was toward the end of an interview when asked, "Is there anything else you'd like to tell us?" Oh, how her answer filled my mother's heart to overflowing. She said, "I'd like to tell my sister and brother that I am really proud of them for helping me." Overcome with love and gratitude, her tears spilled over.
A funny moment occurred when the governor asked if Amana was a Husker Volleyball fan. She shook her head no, and said, "I like baseball." Lige and I exchanged looks and laughs! Lige thought that was awesome, and I was stuck wondering when husker baseball became her favorite!
Another funny thing was the way Harrison snuggled up to Governor Heineman. A standard handshake was not enough, so he followed it with a high five. And then he just sat down on the governor's lap! Oh brother!
Anlynn was invited to talk with the governor as well. However, so much was new and unfamiliar that Anlynn chose to hang back with mom and dad. Isaac hung out in the baby backpack until our family picture with the governor.
That evening, we were excited to go to the Girl Scout meeting. When we arrived, we were welcomed by the most amazing fourth graders. Amana got to tell them what we did to help them and the girls asked questions. Amana answered them all! Then we told them how much our donation was: $375.50! The troop leader got tears in her eyes, and so did this mommy. We were invited to share snack with them, and it was fun to get to know the Girl Scouts we had first seen on the news. I can tell you, the troop leader is doing an amazing job using the Girl Scouts to train up beautiful young ladies in the Lord. We discussed how even one person can make a big difference in the world. It was a privilege and a joy to sit and talk with them. One young lady shared a quote from Mother Teresa, "We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." And when my drop is added to my daughter's drop, and those two drops are added to your drops...oh, that our God will be pleased by the simple acts of those following in obedience to Him!
If you would like to help the girls of Girl Scout troop 113, contact their troop leader Jennifer Davidson at jendavidson1@gmail.com
Here are a few links that might be of interest:
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