When I was a young I would visit my gram quite a
bit. We’d drive over there after my dad got off dinner or if I was sick at
school, my gram would come get me and give me a little “TLC” as she’d call
it. When we would leave, she would make
me a goodie bag, I may have told you about them before. It was a brown paper sack (almost always
recycled – reused because she didn’t waste) and it would contain a snack size
bag of fritos (they were my Aunt Janie’s favorite so there was always plenty on
hand), a banana, some fun size candy bars (because my grampa always had them in
a brown bowl on the bottom shelf in the fridge), and a granola bar. In the old days my gram always had the oats
and honey, however, soon came the chewy granola bars, to which the flavor was ALWAYS
chocolate chip.
Today I was in Kroger going to buy Little
Caesar’s gift cards and I thought I’d check to see if the granola bars are
still on sale. They were. And in that moment while shopping, I thought
about my gram and how much she loved me.
Nowadays gifts seem to be extravagant and bananas and granola bars might
be considered lame. LOL
I often wonder why I am so drawn to the Cody
Rouge district. I mean, of course I love
Detroit, I mean a lot of people love Detroit. We love the restaurants, they
love the river front, we love the sports, me I feel odd that I love driving in
neighborhoods praying for houses, looking at abandoned schools, dreaming and
listening to God’s strong still voice. (And
there is nothing wrong with loving all the cool things in Detroit – there are
SOOOOO many great things to love!).
When I really think about why I love the Cody
Rouge area, it’s simple; I drove down that area a lot of my life. I went to church in that area, I drove down
that area so many times. I love that
area. And most importantly, I see HOPE.
I have been praying about what to do with the
school… how to love them. Part of the
issue is that I can’t really commit to being a tutor or mentor 4 times a month
due to logistics. However, I was
instantly drawn to the engineering room.
They talked about how the kids work so hard… and all I could think of
was “I wonder what they snack on”. I am
such a nerd (and a mom). So I made a
snack box for them, and my plan is to replenish it once a month, maybe through
in some Little Caesar’s gift cards (Aren’t Hot N Ready’s the BOMB.COM when you’re
in a hurry or broke and need to get something to eat?). Included in that box are granola bars, fruit
snacks, peanut butter crackers, rice krispie treats, and the gift cards.
My hope is that the students will know that
someone loves them, and that the teachers (who have taken on some of this
burden) will know they are supported.
I am so thankful to be able to support the
students and the teachers! And I am so
thankful to my gram who taught me to love in such small ways!!
Dear
children, let us not love with words
or speech but with actions and
in truth. 1 John 3:18
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