07/31/2026
A story from OUR open home 🏠
When we talk about Loving Lavishly at Isaiah 117 House, Monday night reminded me exactly what that means.
We welcomed three sisters—ages 4, 1, and 4 months—directly from the hospital.
The oldest immediately ran to our play kitchen. Within minutes, she was smiling and pretending to cook, finding a small moment of childhood in the midst of unimaginable circumstances.
Her one-year-old sister arrived asleep in the arms of one of our volunteers.
Our youngest guest came in an infant carrier, restless, crying, and clearly uncomfortable in a neck brace. She had more injuries than I could count. After asking questions about how to safely hold her, I immediately scooped her up. I knew my role wasn't to fix what had happened to her. My role was simply to hold her and love her while she was with us.
We had incredible volunteers that evening who prepared dinner, packed bags, gave baths, and played with the children. My place was with our littlest guest, trying to find a position where she could finally rest.
I fed her, changed her diaper, wrapped her snugly in a swaddle, and held her close. The one thing that seemed to comfort her most was one of our heartbeat bears. As I cuddled her with that gentle heartbeat against her, she finally began to settle.
All I could do was pray for her healing and let her know, through every hug and every moment I held her, that she was safe.
The best part of the night was that all three sisters were placed together with a foster family. As they left, the heartbeat bear went with our littlest guest, hopefully providing a little comfort in a world that had been anything but comforting.
We never truly know the pain, fear, or trauma our guests have endured before they arrive at Isaiah 117 House. But we do know our calling.
Love lavishly.
Sometimes love looks like a warm meal.
Sometimes it looks like a toy kitchen.
Sometimes it looks like volunteers serving behind the scenes.
And sometimes... it looks like simply holding a hurting baby until she feels safe enough to sleep.
💙 ❤❤