A Fresh Start – A Fresh Shower
There have been a few situations in my life where I have really been in need of a shower. After a camping trip without access to facilities, a stay in the hospital, yard work on a hot day or just being outside in the cold for long enough to feel a chill deep to my bones. The cure seems simple: A nice, long, hot, steamy, shower. The shower that gives us a chance to wash away whatever dirt or grime has accumulated, and start fresh, clean.
This week I have been reminded of the blessings I have in a home, with heat and a shower as the weather in our entire country has been unprecedented. It is easy to look at the state of Texas and see something extraordinary happening for them! It is so rare for their temperatures to drop so low that their infrastructure is not built to withstand it. Right now, many homes do not have power, heat or water. They find themselves without showers.
When something extraordinary happens, it draws our attention. But we haven’t seen the individuals in our community who are currently unsheltered and without power, heat and water. This year has also been unprecedented for them. Trinity’s SSS Program has been offering showers for nearly 20 years, but due to COVID, those showers were suspended for nearly ten months. During that time we were able to provide hygiene kits to help, but many of those in needs still struggled to find a location to take a shower.
We are grateful for missions in our area like The Wave Project, who offer a mobile shower trailer. COVID Relief funding has been awarded from the county to the Warming Shelter and is partnering with the Macomb County Rotating Emergency Shelter Team (MCREST) to provide shelter via motel stays for those in need this winter, this allows showers for those in need as well.
Social Ministry is so glad to say that as of February 14, we too are able to offer showers to those guests in need! In the Bible, when rain falls, crops grow. Washing of feet is a cleansing experience of serving others. Water is used not only to physically clean, but to spiritually cleanse. To be freed from the sins and sufferings. Being able to offer a shower to someone may just seem like a nice gesture to some. But to others is it a way to feel human again, to be cleansed physically and find a better place mentally. It’s a chance we have to give our guests a Fresh Start.
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. -Isaiah 12:3