Maru stood at the threshold of homelessness.
“Every door that I ever felt was open was closing,” said Maru, a single mother of three boys.
But closed doors redirect us to open doors.
Maru’s first door opened when Urban Youth Impact referred her to Jacqueline Hardin, a family support manager with Better Together. Maru shared her plight with Jacqueline, who knew Maru and her sons from outreach events in the Twin Lakes community in West Palm Beach.
With a sense of urgency and “faith in God’s sovereignty,” Jacqueline got to work. She helped Maru secure a hotel and supported her while she called shelters. Both called on their faith.
“God was saying, ‘Don’t worry about tomorrow, I’ve got tomorrow, just walk in today, keep loving, keep loving, just keep walking,'” said Jacqueline.
Maru’s second door opened when she and her sons were accepted into the AVDA shelter in Delray Beach. Maru was grateful for the room. Her gratitude grew when Jacqueline and her husband, Scott, volunteered to temporarily care for two of Maru’s sons.
“We knew them from doing outreach, so it was a no-brainer,” said Scott, a leader at Bow Down Church. His heart for children made the boys feel at home.
Maru’s third door opened when she met Maria, a Better Together mentor. They shared meals, books, goals, and their life stories. They became “sisters in Christ,” said Maria, who attends Kingdom Life Church.
“She was exactly what I needed,” Maru said of Maria.
Maru’s fourth door opened when, after three months of ‘faith with works,’ she and her sons moved into an apartment in Azure Estates.
“They were here to help,” Maru said of Jacqueline, Scott, Maria, and the community. “It was the only reason why I was able to focus on what I had to do.”
“Maru witnessed the magnificence of God’s hand in each and every one of God’s people,” added Jacqueline.
A magnificence that can open any door.
Story and moment by Kinfay / Better Together
