Touching

"It is no wonder that just the touch of another human being at a dark time can be enough to save the day." -- Frederick Buechner in Beyond Words

I thought of Buechner's quote up top today as I photographed the yarny goodness that had come in from three Angels this week. I've been thinking quite a bit these past couple of weeks about the people we serve, after learning that the number of folks coming to our soup kitchen, food pantry, and homeless shelters shot up dramatically in August. Some had never been to such a place before, some had come in the past but had gotten shakily to their feet again, and some were on harder times than they had been before.

There were discussions as to why this was happening -- it's unusual in the summer, when more hourly or day labor jobs are available in lawn care, construction, and food service. The conclusion was that what we are seeing is the result of the continuing down turn in the economy, and that the dark time will be around for many of the people we serve for some time to come.

Dark times can knock on anyone's door, sometimes in the most unexpected ways. It may not be because of economics, the darkness may be relationship- or health-driven. But I saw recently on two separate occasions just how powerful that touch can be in turning the tide on darkness. And that power is just what I saw in the boxes and bags that came in from our Angels.

Angel Lisa from Lake Forest dropped by a bag of "spa bag innards" from her friend Darcy, as well as these:
She kept apologizing for such a meager stash of yarny goodness, but I know that her life is very full right now. These will touch women in Cornerstone Community Outreach's homeless shelters -- and that is very powerful. No gift of love is EVER too small to be powerful.

Angel Julie Scigalski from Chicago brought over some wonderful yarny goodness -- just look:
More wonderful spa cloths for our ladies! And the blue one was a test swatch (what a GREAT idea!!) for this:
A lovely afghan just perfect for one of our senior women at Friendly Towers - I just love the colors Julie chose. It will touch a life by keeping one of our "grandmas" toasty all winter long.
She also dropped off a scarf for one of the men served by A Just Harvest, to match a hat she made earlier. The scarf was made by the lovely ladies at the K1P2 knitting group. I love the border -- interesting, but "manly!" The number of people coming to A Just Harvest for dinner in August is up nearly 30% -- we'll need to increase the number of hats and scarves we need to hand out on December 4. Talk about the human touch!

Angel Hazel Lindsay from Australia posted a box of love before she left to go to Scotland to help care for her aunt who is quite ill. Some beautiful things were in there:
More lovely spa cloths!
Don't you think Hazel makes the most exquisite matinee jackets? Just look at the detailing in each of them. There are several patterns she regularly uses, and I think my most favorite one is the ivory matinee jacket above with the feather and fan patterned lace. These love gifts will be just perfect for the newborns we serve at Swedish Covenant Hospital. The new moms will LOVE these!
And just look at these sweaters! I think they will be wonderful for the children we serve at Cornerstone's Leland House and Parenting Progress.

My spirits were lifted greatly just by thinking how these love gifts from Lisa, Julie, and Hazel may save the day for someone in darkness. I thank them for that. What a great power all of you Angels have -- you, too, are very likely making something right now which God will use in an amazing way for someone who is in the darkness. I've seen it happen, I've seen the miracle, and I am so very, very thankful that each of you is so willing to become that touch for others!