There are not enough words in all of the English language to express how beyond grateful we are for this opportunity doTERRA has given us to participate in the Healing Hands Match Program. doTERRA will match every single dollar we raise up to $10,000. Isn’t this amazing?
Two years ago I was sitting in my husband’s hospital room with a few others who formed the board of our newly established nonprofit. We held our first board meeting right then and there. We all knew the chapters of Dave’s life on earth were coming to an end but the bigger story he played a role in would not be coming to an end. Honestly, I think this carried our family through the pain of losing him more than we realized. It gave us all something to look forward to, his legacy carrying on.
And now, I have sat with the title of widow for nearly two years. The other day I mentioned to my friends that it is like a very uncomfortable garment that you are forced to slip on, the heaviness unbearable at times. Yes, you may grow accustomed to the weight of it, while building up new-found muscles to navigate through life with. BUT you so wish you never had to put the thing on, and you never forget its presence.
The thing is, people can gather around you and help distribute the weight of it a little more evenly. They give you a shoulder to lean on, an ear to listen to, a heart to feel you and helping hands to carry out some of the tasks that overwhelm. The added weight of widow-ness is excruciatingly heavy on its own, and the loss leaves a MASSIVE wake of tasks to do, words to be spoken, and trauma to process. So, when a friend takes a precious step close enough to take on some of that you feel the sweet relief you needed but didn’t realize was possible. It’s like a big gasp of fresh air when you weren’t aware you had been holding it.
The other thing to mention is that widow-ness knows no boundaries, it crosses all the lines, it speaks the same language of pain. The aftermath of a death, no matter where you are in the world, plays that same melancholy tune that vibrates the heart + shakes the mind of the one left behind. Crawling up in a ball + rocking your body to the beat may feel like the only option. I didn’t understand this until it was me, the widow. And then I SAW with new eyes and felt with a different heart. One language understood: grief.
That is why this Widow Project means EVEN MORE to me now than it did a few years ago when I was first introduced to the work of the home building projects in Western Kenya. I get it on a whole new level. If you have watched the video I created of my Pamoja Love Story then you have a little deeper understanding already. If you missed it here is the link: The Pamoja Love Story
Death can bring what feels like destruction but it also provides ample opportunity for HOPE + LOVE to break through and break down the lies that you are alone. It takes people mobilizing in love though, we must not just think about it, or become stagnant. We must reach out and DO SOMETHING, even if just a little.
TOGETHER the little grows and becomes a beaming ray of sunshine in someone’s life. Can you imagine for a moment the loss, the loneliness, the overwhelm of your home falling apart and someone knocking on your door saying: “I see you. Are you okay? Can I help you?” That is love in action. That matters deeply.
We would love to have you join us in this mission to reach the hurting + love on them right where they are. With the match program, $325 will build them an entirely NEW HOME! Watch this video on The Home Building Project to see how the building project works with the community to partner together. It really is a thing of beauty. We also have the food program which is $25, matched that gives food supply to two families.
Here is a peek into one of the home projects we partnered with last year: Seen + Loved
This is the link to the MATCH PROGRAM . Make sure your donation goes in on that link or it won’t get matched.
A HUGE shout out to doTERRA for allowing us this opportunity to be matched. The lives of so many families are about to be changed. This hope + love is going to ignite a fire that spreads beyond our wildest imaginations.
So much love sent out to you all!