One of the best experiences in life is when someone comes alongside you and shares your passion as if it were her own. That is what Shannon Holmes has done. Our hearts desires are the same - to love God's people because He has loved us. But Shannon has chosen to channel that love through the Glory Girl Foundation and work for it's cause. I could not do what I do without her, and I'm so glad she has chosen to write today about why we do our Love Totes at Christmas:
I never had the honor of meeting our precious Glory Girl. Before her birth, Kerry and I were acquantances, we had mutual friends, we were seated at a table together at a wedding, we spoke when we ran into each other at the grocery store, but we did not share our hopes and dreams with one another, yet. I followed Kerry and Glory’s story like so many people did. I prayed for them, I cried for them, my heart, the heart of a mother, broke for them, like so many others. Little did we know, there was a plan, His plan, a plan years in the making, that would bring us together.
Kerry and I were brought together by something that can only be attributed to His perfect timing. It was a combination of women, who wanted to show the love of Jesus, lift up one another, and make a difference. Kerry shared her heart, wide open and exposed, she wanted to do something for the families in the CVICU at Arkansas Children’s Hospital at Christmas, but she wanted it to be difference than anything anyone else does. It was one of those moments where, you feel so lucky to be a witness to someone’s dream, and you think to yourself, I want to help make this happen for my friend. This is when the idea for the “Love Totes” was born. Kerry shared how she wanted to take care of the families. She wanted to cater to them. To the Mom’s and the Dad’s who were spending their Christmas in the hospital holding vigil at their child’s side, not knowing what the next day, hour, or minute may hold. To do something, anything, to let them know, people are praying for you, people care about you, as Momma’s, our hearts break with yours.
Shannon and Kerry
As the time to deliver the “Love Totes” drew near, my anxiety was greatly increasing. There were so many stipulations the hospital had, as to who could deliver the totes, what could be in the totes, had we had a flu shot. I was also worried about the reception we would have from the families who were there. I never wanted any family to be uncomfortable with our presence. I could only hope and pray they would know we were coming from a place of love. I did not understand their pain, I could not even begin to try, but I hoped they were receptive to our love. When we arrived at the CVICU waiting room, with our boxed dinners and totes, I was struck by the overwhelming sense of exhaustion. There was a row of chairs along the wall that doubled as beds, and there were Mommas, tired, beyond the point of exhaustion, holding vigil at their baby’s bedside, for an endless number of days and nights. They were called a few at a time into the waiting room to get their dinner and their tote, and when they came in, there was so much appreciation and love in these Momma’s eyes. The fact that someone thought about them. Someone took time to bring them a boxed dinner, and a bag with things that they can use at that very moment. Something to pamper themselves as they hold vigil by their baby’s side. Something to make, if even for a moment, them feel special. Something that says, carry on Momma, we love you, our hearts break for you, you are a warrior, you are not alone.
Love Totes ready to go the families at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock
This is why we do Love Totes. This is why we ask you to help us. This is why we do what we do. As women, as mothers, as sisters, as daughters, we are to take care of each other, we are to lift one another up, we are to share the burden, if only for a moment, if only in a tote.