The Jennifer Blogs

Warning -- this is a very long blog, but there really is a point/lesson.

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Being in Baton Rouge has made me think a lot. We moved from Louisiana in 2004 and this is our first visit back. It feels weird. Things have changed a lot since we left. Of course, much of it is probably due to Hurricane Katrina. 



Tonight we had coffee with some friends that we haven't seen or talked to since we moved. We didn't hang out with Stephanie and Chad a lot before we moved, but they are some of my favorite people. Stephanie and I worked together under some pretty crappy conditions, so we bonded very easily since we were the only two sane people there. It was really good to see her again.



Anyway, I got to thinking about how all of this started.



When I moved to Louisiana, I couldn't get a job in radio to save my life. I had responded to an ad for an on-air position at Citadel Broadcasting, had a great interview, and then nothing. After several un-returned phone calls to the PD who hired me, I gave up and started working for the Salvation Army. I was the social services director. It was a thankless job, but I know I did a lot of good during the time I was there. In fact, if it weren't for Francesca, my life would probably be very different.



Francesca came into the Salvation Army with a story very different from all the other people I had helped. She actually WANTED to do better for herself. She didn't want a hand-out. She just wanted some help getting back on her feet. As the social services director, I wrote her a check from the Salvation Army to pay for some training she needed so she could get a job in construction, a field where she had some limited experience. Well, she took that test and she scored a perfect score. The only problem was - she didn't have any steel toed boots to go to work in. The Salvation Army couldn't help her anymore. There was some policy that said she had to wait 30 days for another "hand out." Thing is, I knew this girl really was serious about doing better for herself. So I went to Wal-Mart that night and bought her a pair of steel-toed boots in her size. She came in the next day and I gave them to her. 

I didn't hear from Francesca for a couple of weeks, but when she came back to the Salvation Army the next time rather than asking me for something, she brought me something. She gave me a coupon for a free coffee at the Starlight Espresso Cafe. Now, that may not seem like a big deal, but the story behind it is amazing. She told me how, at her church on Mother's Day (just a few days before), the pastor's wife spoke about what a mom is. She heard that a mom doesn't have to be someone who gives birth to you, but someone who takes care of you -- someone who puts your best interests first -- someone who loves you as you are. This pastor's wife then instructed everyone in attendance to take the coupon that was in their bulletin and give it to someone who was a "mom" to them -- maybe their birth mother, maybe not. Francesca gave her coupon to me.

I got my free coffee, but I also decided to visit this church. Household of Faith became my home church after that, and is the place I credit for helping me grow and mature as a Christian. It's the place where I fell in love with Jesus all over again, and the place where my entire family was baptized together on September 1, 2002.

I began praying that God would get me out of the Salvation Army and back into a job that I loved -- something in radio. 

One afternoon I called Citadel Broadcasting to ask if they would run a PSA for the Salvation Army. I got to talking with the guy on the phone. During our conversation I learned the PD who had interviewed me was no longer with the company. I told this guy on the phone that I really wanted to come work there, so he told me to bring him a demo as soon as possible. I drove it over that afternoon and was hired almost immediately. (A total God thing.)

(In case you're not following -- Francesca got me back into church, where I started redeveloping my relationship with Christ. It was only then that I was able to get a job doing what I loved.)

While I was working at this radio job, I became friends with Stephanie. There was a lot of turn-over at this radio station, so while I really loved the guy who ended up hiring me, he was moved to a different department shortly after I arrived and was no longer my direct boss. Bummer. Stephanie and I grew close and I invited her to church with me. She and her boyfriend Chad fell in love with it too, and began attending regularly. 



Skip ahead to 2004. We move to Florida. I don't know if I never got Stephanie's email address when we moved or what happened exactly, but we didn't keep in touch.



This past Sunday we visited Household of Faith for the first time since we left. It was as if we'd never moved. Sure, there were a lot of new and different faces, but there were a few familiar ones too. It was SO good to see Pastor Scott and Vanessa. Hearing Michael lead worship was INCREDIBLE! And running into Stephanie and Chad was unexpected. I guess I didn't figure they'd still be going to church there, but they were...and we were able to spend some quality time with them tonight.

I've probably written this blog more for my benefit than for a reader's, but I guess all this has made me realize that we play roles in people's lives sometimes that we never ever realize the full effect of. 

Francesca came into the Salvation Army for help, but ended up bring me more than I ever could have given her. It won't be until I meet her in heaven one day that she'll ever know what a difference that day made to me. I don't remember her last name. I don't know whatever happened to her. But it was because of her that I went to Household of Faith. It was because of Household of Faith that I renewed my relationship with Christ. It was because of that I got back into radio. It was because of that Stephanie became my friend. It was because of that she is now at Household of Faith and is actively serving (so is Chad). After leaving HOF, Marso and I helped start two churches.

I'm telling you all this to say that *YOU* have no idea the influence you have on someone. You have no idea the difference you can make in someone's life. In fact, Francesca not only made a difference in MY life, she made a difference in the lives of anyone affected by my going to HOF or in the lives of anyone affected by my helping to plant two churches in Florida.



So thank you Francesca.