A letter from one of our donors
This is a letter that we recently received from an anonymous donor.
Have you ever missed a meal? Have you ever had nowhere to sleep besides the street? Have you ever had to sit and ponder when your next warm shower may take place?
I have.
While I was blessed with Godly parents and lived in a God-centered “home,” we went without. Often.
I was homeless three times before I turned 18. We had no food more times than not. We had no refrigerator in our home for six weeks at one point. Our electricity and water were turned off with frequency. Right here in Louisiana. Right amongst you. I had hard-working, educated parents with three degrees between them. I had star football player brothers. We were clean. We were raised to be kind. Our family was the typical picture of the “American Dream.”
But we went without. Often.
We fell on hard times and had to figure out what was next. Where do you turn?
Fast forward to today. I have four brothers, all with degrees, all with successful careers, all with beautiful children – and yes, all of them love Jesus. Being “poor” has a stigma. We are too often quick to judge what someone should or shouldn’t do to get themselves out of the predicament they are currently in relating to finances and providing for themselves or their families. But sometimes, you just fall on hard times and don’t know where to turn. We look at the “beggar” and mentally judge his/her decisions. You don’t know them. You don’t know what they have been through.
Take it from me. You wouldn’t know by looking at me that I had my first pair of new Nike shoes when I turned 13. You wouldn’t know by looking at my successful brothers that they went to football practice on rice and ketchup. You wouldn’t know that this “perfect” godly family left Sunday church and returned home to no Sunday lunch. So, before you “throw the first stone” (John 8:7), take a moment and do as we are instructed in scripture - have compassion (Matthew 25:36).
You might say to yourself, “I am not Catholic!” Me neither, so that makes two of us.
Or you might say “I don’t live in Acadiana.” I don’t either. I live 9 hours away, to be exact.
You might say to yourself, “These people just need to get a job!” Man, my dad tried – over and over.
You might say to yourself, “If I were him or her, I would…..” You aren’t.
So, what can I do to help? Well, for starters, you can contribute to organizations like Catholic Charities of Acadiana. This organization is on the front lines. They are the tip of the spear in the Gospel work of clothing the naked and feeding the hungry. We are instructed in the scriptures to do so. And this group is doing just that.
How specifically can I contribute? Thanks for asking. I choose to connect my Amazon purchases to an Amazon Smile account – that contributes quarterly to Catholic Charities of Acadiana. Every purchase on Amazon sends a percentage automatically to a charity of your choice. I choose Catholic Charities of Acadiana, and you can too. It’s a 3-minute process to designate your charity of choice on Amazon. Or you may choose to contribute a monthly dollar amount. No amount is too small. Or you may choose to send in-kind donations, things that they need in order to provide services.
But there is something that all of us can do. GIVE. But give from the abundance of your heart. Not from your wealth. Give as an obedience to the Father, not as an obligation. You won’t be sorry. As the scriptures point to, your Father in Heaven will reward you on that day.
Read about the real impact of Catholic Charities of Acadiana’s programs here, and consider becoming a monthly sustaining donor and designating your contribution to the program that is most meaningful to you.