A Love Story – Live Oak, Florida
"The presence of the Lord was there," said the executive director of Love INC of Live Oak, Florida, describing a housewarming celebration for Billie, a Love INC client. Billie is a single mom with three children. She holds two jobs, one of which is at a women's shelter where she shares her personal experience of abuse. The children's father is incarcerated. Billie's two teenage daughters have never had their own beds. Night after night they shared a raggedy old futon. When Billie called the Love INC Clearinghouse, she was in desperate need of housing. The home where she and her children lived leaked badly when it rained.
"Billie only called Love INC when she was at the very end of herself and had nowhere else to turn," said the Love INC executive director. "I shared her housing need with a church in the Love INC network, and they responded immediately. A real sense of urgency developed among the church members. Their response to helping Billie was ‘we need to, we have to, we must.'"
One church member stepped forward with a new home for Billie to rent that provided a secure environment for her family. But the church didn't stop there. They held a surprise housewarming party. No one had ever given Billie a party before, not even for her birthday. Gratitude overwhelmed her. Church members purchased twin beds for the girls, complete with new sheets and towels. Recalled the Love INC director, "The church even bought two chairs for Billie's new porch, and a flat of flowers and potting soil, because they knew she wanted a garden." Members of the church moved the family into their new home, set up the furniture, and even brought food. But most of all, they gave the gifts of joy and hope to Billie and her family.