Today’s story is actually about two heroes. Steve and Angela Ford are friends of ours and two of the most amazing people I know. Steve is an elder at our church and Angela plays the piano, leads Pathfinders, and helps in many other areas. They are also wonderful, loving parents who have raised terrific, talented kids, who are becoming leaders in their own right.
Steve is an RN working at one of our local hospitals. Like so many other heroic healthcare workers in these difficult times, Steve, even though he knows he may be putting his own health at risk, still goes into work everyday, caring for his patients with skill and compassion.
Angela, on the other hand, is another quiet hero. Working from home she lovingly cares for her family, brightens peoples’ lives with beautiful flower arrangements, runs a business, and posts encouraging messages on Facebook and Instagram.
Angela teaches the primary class at church and, even though our church is closed right now, she hasn’t forgotten her primary kids. Each week she’s been creating care packages to cheer them up and remind them God loves them.
This last week Angela made each of her primary kids a special gift. In a colorfully decorated bottle she placed a paper with a message written on it in invisible ink. Angela included a solution of turmeric in rubbing alcohol, which when painted on the paper, caused the writing to appear.
This was what the message said:
You are a child of God.
You are wonderfully made,
Dearly loved, and
Precious in His sight.
Before God made you,
He knew you….
There is no one else like you!
This pandemic is not just scary for we adults. It’s hard on the kids too. That’s why it’s so important for them to have heroes like Angela and Steve to remind them God is watching over them, so they don’t need to be afraid.
Thank you Angela and Steve for the example you set and for following the advice in Philippians 2:4 to not “look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others too.”
And thank you to all the other everyday heroes, fathers and mothers, grandparents and neighbors and friends who are going out of their way to remind our little ones everyday Jesus loves them very, very much! You are all heroes in God’s eyes!