The Beginning
It was September 2018. We were weeks away from the one year anniversary of my late husband’s passing. My pastor’s wife reached out asking if there was anything the ladies in my community group could do for us during this tender time. I can’t recall all the details, but the next thing I knew, we were creating an amazon wish list of all the items people had gifted me in the past year of my grief that I found to be incredibly helpful. My thought was that I’d continue to meet widows down the road and I wanted to be able to give these women a meaningful gift to help them along in their journey of widowhood.
Before I could even realize what was happening, I found myself coming home from work to amazon packages piled high on my front doorstep. Some days it was difficult to pull open my front door! We received well above what we asked for.
I knew I was going to need some help, so these precious ladies got to planning. I didn’t do much to prepare for packaging these items, but what unfolded ended up being one of my favorite memories. Our Good News Church community set up an evening with stations for packing the gifts, organized worship, and a jump house for the kids to play in. What happened on this October evening would be the beginning of so much more.
God had given me the grace to put one foot in front of the other for 365 days since the tragedy hit my home. He was now giving me the tangible experience of a Truth I had been standing on faith to believe: that God wouldn’t waste the pain of what my family was walking through. What the enemy meant for evil, God intended for the saving of many lives.
We brought about 50 Care Crates back to my home that evening. Over the next year, those 50 Care Crates were mailed out to widows that I heard about through word of mouth.
My eyes were opening. I was beginning to look up from the pain of my own story and see that all around me there was hurt: more hurting widows than I ever realized.
To skip a whole lot more of the story of Songs in the Night, in 2023 this ministry moved forward as an official 501c3. Donations from churches, friends, and those aware of the need for outreach to widows began to come in. It has been through donations that the Care Crate ministry has continued and the vision of Songs in the Night expanded. At the time of writing this, I can say that we have mailed more than 650 Care Crates to widows (United States and United Kingdom included).
The Care Crate is just one part of the ministry here at Songs in the Night. Our mission is to walk alongside widows in the depths of their grief. We believe with the support of a faithful community, the depths of grief can propel her into even deeper places with God. We seek to build a community where widows can grieve well while simultaneously growing deeper roots in their faith. For some widows, this may start when she receives a Care Crate in the earlier days of her grief journey. The Care Crates were crafted with that first year of grief in mind: find out more about each book selected for the Care Crate here.
At the time of writing this, it has been seven years since my late husband went to be with the Lord. I often think back to a sticky note that I found in his office when I was sorting through his belongings. This note read:
“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27
Pure religion. I want that. I want to continue to say yes to what God says is pure and undefiled. I want to keep moving near to the widow and fatherless in their season of affliction. I am acquainted with the struggle it brings. A physical, emotional and spiritual struggle; yet God is so near through it all. I pray that Songs in the Night could be a vessel for these families to feel:
Seen by God
Supported by a faithful community
Strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit
You are invited to come alongside us towards this end. If you are considering being a ministry partner, reach out! I would love to connect with you.
To God be the glory,
