Help A Family Friday

This post is very close to my heart; it is the story of a fabulous family I followed/got to know through the blog world over the last three years…in many ways this post is very hard for me to write, it makes me question society, family, “norms” and the division of wealth; in many ways it makes me feel like I did when I was volunteering overseas, utterly helpless and filled with questions about why & how. I believe the world is a good place, filled with great people and yet I see this wonderful family and feel grief…

The Boxcarkids Blog is written by a wonderful woman who adopted four fabulous children on her own over a ten-year period. At the time she had a good job, owned a home and blogged about her lovely family. After her son became ill, she made the decision to move and rent her house out, expecting the renter to pay rent (as you do!). Sadly the renter didn’t pay the rent and suddenly she lost her job as a single mom. Obviously she could not afford the mortgage payments, lost the house and has been unable to find another job. If that wasn’t shocking enough…this family is homeless. They spent two months living in tents (with four young children!) and now live in an RV. They were just about to be kicked out of the RV park and are trying desperately to find another place, before their eviction, thankfully I’ve just had an email from boxcar mama herself and they’ve found another RV park who will take them in!

The truth is, when I think about this family, I cry. I don’t understand how it happens - not the financial side per se (numbers can be crunched), but how anyone can be homeless, not have someone take them in when they hit rock bottom. I have taken in friends before in bad places and would do it again in a heartbeat. It makes me thankful for my mum who would never question having me move in and it makes me determined that I would never ever turn my back on any friend or family member in need.

This family’s story is one of courage, determination and strength. Each day when I pray for them, I feel blessed to have read their story, to know that women are capable of coping with incredible hardships for their children’s sake, for children who started life without a family and now may not have what the average Western child has, but does have a family to call their own.

So how can we help this special family?

1. Pray for them & encourage them!

2. There is a paypal donation button found here which is also linked from her blog

3. She is selling on ebay some of her own goods and getting commission selling a friend’s goods. Please support the boxcarkids mama’s ebay sales

4. Consider volunteering with the homeless, giving grocery store cards to homeless people & families when you pass by on foot or in the car, take in friends in who are in a “bad place”, vote for people who know everyone exists and is important, because the truth is that everyone matters.