It took me awhile to find my blog site as I had only written one article and, frankly, I was not impressed with my writing. So I gave it up...until now.
Hopefully, my words here will be more eloquent as they are not about me!
My sister-in-law, Maria, is an angel here on Earth. But she is living in a hellish environment. A few quick facts on her household:
Married to Pete: Supervisor at a local McDonalds. Works many hours for his salary...no overtime and he has constantly changing hours.
Son: Christopher age 24. Kind and extremely shy. College graduate of Franciscan Univ working downtown Cleveland for a bank. Lives at home and helps his mom out a great deal!
Daughter: Monica age 20. Attends College of Wooster. Loves music but found her passion with speech therapy after years of experience with her brother Zachary. She is there on scholarships and loans. She is so, so very sweet.
Son: Zachary age 18. Severely autistic with very limited speech. Attends special needs school. Loves the water and water slides. Gentle soul.
Son: Linus age 6. Surprise! Maria did extensive research into autism and tried to eat organically and refused immunizations for Linus. Linus is homeschooled and is extremely bright, social and engaging.
Son: Levi age newborn. Surprise again!
They bought a house near Oberlin, Ohio about 16 years ago. Their house was built in the earlier 1900's and it was a Sears model which was brought in as a "kit" by the train.
And here is where the story begins...I wish I could express my admiration for Maria in the handling of her hardships. She looks to God for all! Maria is generous with whatever she has and she has a HUGE talent in making the most delicious pies. And, if you are hurting at all, or if you are celebrating, or if you showed some kindness to her or her family, you will soon find a homemade pie in your hands. And there will be a simple message sculpted out of pie crust, baked on top and sprinkled lightly with cinnamon!
The problem is the house. Her family is endeavoring to help where we can. We have all chipped in over the years to buy carpeting, re-tar the roof, re-set the concrete porch steps, paint etc. But it is no longer enough and, I'm afraid, the house in becoming dangerous for them. In addition, Zachary was able to enjoy a massive, beautiful waterpark near their home and brought home bedbugs. With all the nooks, crannies in this century home, Maria can only do so much. She has a steamer that kills them on contact, but the extra work this is causing her is unbelievable. For instance, she washes everything on 'hot' and after it is dry, she puts each item in its own ziploc baggie. Each member of the household goes to their plastic garbage bag to look for a baggie with their shirt, pants, underwear etc. At bedtime, she steams the area around their beds to make sure her children aren't being attacked while sleeping. There are three bedrooms on the second floor and all have ceiling water damage. Her husband drilled a hole through the hall ceiling so the water would no longer run over the ceilings of all the bedrooms, but come out into one bucket. The pipes for water are on the wall side of the house so the pipes tend to freeze up when it is cold here. In addition, Zachary has special needs and he tends to peel, strip, destroy the rooms where he lives. It is all part of his autism, but Maria usually discovers he has completely taken all stitching out of his last pair of sweats right before school.
She needs a miracle. She could use an extreme makeover. Her home cost her $70,000 fifteen years ago. She has chickens and ducks, cherry trees and a little plot of land for her garden. Their town has about 500 residents living there and no one is wealthy. I know her church would love to help her, but this area is depressed and everyone is having a hard time just getting by right now.
She is feeling overwhelmed now and is crying out to God for help. And God, hearing her and loving her is tugging at me! And, what am I to do? I don't have the resources to build her a new home. Her house, at the least, needs a new roof. The kits that they used back then had flat roofs and we live in snowy Ohio. A new sloped roof will not be inexpensive as there will be a lot to repair once the old roof comes off and then a new roof will need to be constructed. So, I am writing this blog to look for help.
Dear Lord, Please tug at the heart of the person who can assist Maria and her family. Let them know that their sacrifice is pleasing to you. We take no earthly treasures with us when we die but we can show you that we cared for the poor as your son Jesus taught us. Help us to be generous as you are generous. Thank you Lord for loving us. Thank you for your ultimate sacrifice on the cross. We know that you would've rather suffered and died then spend eternity without us. Help us to be worthy of this kind of love. In Your Name I pray.
Teri
