Love and Be Loved

I have always felt deeply connected to The Giving Keys because for a time, I was homeless and had heard of their mission employing homeless for some time before I went to Los Angeles and came across a small kiosk in a mall selling them. My life's theme for that particular chapter was to love and be loved, so I purchased the LOVE key as a reminder to not only actively love the people around me, but to love and accept my whole self. Ever since I purchased it, I'd been praying for the Lord to reveal who I was to give it to. I had concocted this notion that I was supposed to give it to my future husband, whoever that may be, on our wedding day, but it hadn't really been confirmed.

I recently moved to a new Church home and fell into this wonderfully intimate community where people depend on each other in an open and honest fashion and truly do life together. One Thursday afternoon, a text went out letting the Body know our pastor and his wife had lost their unborn child to a miscarriage later than normal. Our Church was broken for this young family and we joined together and lifted them in prayer. I had never really met my pastor's wife but in passing, so I had decided to pray from a distance. Last Sunday, she sat in front of me. During our meet-and-greet time, she turned around and we started chatting. After I expressed my sympathy and told her of my prayers for her and her family, she asked me about my key I was wearing. (Keep in mind, I have been asked no less than 50 times about this key and have shared essentially the same story.) I briefly told her about it and about The Giving Key mission but something was different this particular instance and an overwhelming feeling came over me that it was to her I should give the key. She needed love and support much more than I did. I pray that will serve as a symbol of her community loving and supporting her and her family during this unbearable time of loss and may it be used as a token of just how powerful Christ and the Church really are.

My life's theme has changed since I purchased my key back in April and will be ordering my new key stamped with "Persevere" soon and I look forward to meeting the person to whom I will give it and sharing this story with them.

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