Teddi and her family piled into their SUV, left the suburbs, and ventured forty-five minutes toward the city’s downtown district. They’d planned a family fun night, cheering on the local baseball team. Teddi’s family arrived downtown and snagged a parking spot in a nearby gravel lot. As they hustled from the parking lot to the game, they passed several homeless people holding signs. One sign captured Teddi’s eye. It read, “Do you have a sandwich?” She had never seen a sign with such a specific request. Teddi entered the baseball park and saw a crowd full of families like hers, rolling coolers filled with snacks, beverages, and sandwiches.
While baseballs were pitched and the crowd cheered, Teddi continued thinking about this sign. All he wants is someone’s extra peanut butter and jelly sandwich. We can do that. That seems easy. Once the kids are out of school for the summer, we could pack sandwiches and bring them to people who are hungry.
Teddi attempted to be present with her family that evening, but her thoughts kept moving toward this mission, which I will refer to as “Operation PB&J.” She could sense her excitement building. After the outing, Teddi discussed her PB&J idea with her husband. He thought it was too dangerous for his wife and three children to go downtown and interact with this population. “Yep, you’re right. What was I thinking?” Teddi agreed and decided not to pursue it. Instead, she resumed her summer plans of vacation Bible school, kids’ sports teams, and days at the pool.
Months later, Teddi read Just Courage by Gary Haugen, president of International Justice Mission. The book encouraged her to embody courage instead of fear when pursuing God and opportunities He may provide. The memory of the sandwich sign flooded her heart again.
God had been leading Teddi’s husband on his own journey during this time, including a mission trip to Honduras. God softened his heart toward the world around him. When Teddi approached him with the idea a second time, he was ready. Before long, the family had packed dozens of sack lunches.
As Teddi prayed and listened to God, she sensed a clear vision from Him to go to a downtown park across from the central library. Teddi loaded up her SUV with kids and sandwiches. “I never had such butterflies as the first day we did this. I didn’t feel unsafe, but I was concerned how the people we served would receive this. What if it didn’t mean anything to them?
On her first couple of trips to the park, the homeless people didn’t really care. While they took the sandwiches, there was little communication. Was this a bad idea? Teddi thought.
Teddi and her kids showed up every Tuesday morning at 11:30 with sandwiches, week after week. Trust built between Teddi and the homeless community at the park. She shared this story:
“The sweetest man showed up every week. I never asked about his past, but I knew he had been in prison for twenty years. He was kind. We took his laundry home and washed it. We brought him detergent the next time so he could do his own laundry too. We built a friendship with him.”
As we find a yes, God grows our character and the invitation to expand beyond our own selves.
Teddi grew tremendously in this yes to God. She grew in her dependence on God to take this risk and step out of her comfort zone. She grew in prayer as she prayed for God to work through her and her kids as they handed out PB&J. Teddi grew in her love for this marginalized, homeless population at the park.
“I never knew I could receive so much joy from making and serving sandwiches. I literally felt the breath of God on my neck. That’s how close I felt to His Spirit when we were with our friends at the park,” Teddi maintained.
Teddi couldn’t keep this amazing blessing to herself. She began inviting other moms and their children to join her. More sandwiches were made, and more people experienced blessing in the receiving and giving. Eventually, her church caught wind of what they were doing and offered to make the sandwiches by enlisting help from even more families. It became a community of yes.
For seven years on every Tuesday at 11:30 a.m., Teddi anchored her yes in Christ, continued to be obedient, and brought others with her on the journey. It wasn’t always easy. Others told her she only perpetuated the “bad behavior” of this population, and she should leave the park. Teddi reflected, “In the midst of my anger, I remembered truth from Scripture. God calls us to be different. When we are different, we are countercultural, and it is not always well received,” Teddi said.
Eventually, the time came when Teddi felt God’s invitation to say no to this particular ministry, at least for a season. She needed to trust that God would continue to minister to her friends in the park.
As Teddi wrestled with letting go, she began to understand why God had drawn her to the park in the first place. Teddi did not expect profound intimacy with Christ to grow in her through this yes. This is what happens, however, when we partner with Jesus. The real longing inside of Teddi was to extend love and dignity to people in the margins because she knew firsthand what it was like to be there. At eighteen years old she’d found herself unexpectedly pregnant, unmarried, and receiving loads of judgment from others. At eighteen, it would have been nice to have more people extend kindness and grace.
As Teddi reflected on her time at the park, she realized the significance of her life story and the importance of this yes God had uniquely given her. Perhaps healing and redemption can take place through something as simple as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
As we find a yes, God grows our character and the invitation to expand beyond our own selves. He allows others the opportunity to get in on the joy of this journey too. What I have discovered is that it’s easy to miss these rich growth opportunities if I’m not intentional to slow down and pay attention to what the Spirit is doing . . . and saying . . . in the midst of the activity.
God wired us to have meaningful connection with Him and with others. Our yes may very well be a conduit to these connections. Let’s not miss the abundance God has for us on the adventure—and for those we journey alongside.
Adapted from Finding Your Yes by Christine Wagoner. Published by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. www.ivpress.com.
Bible Verse: 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
Reflection:
How can I open my heart to new opportunities for service that might stretch me beyond my comfort zone?
Prayer:
Lord teach me to say “yes” to Your calls for service. Help me embrace the adventures You have in store for me.
