Building Bridges

Building Bridges by: Client Service Managers

By Client Services Manager #1

*Amber and I first met over the phone.  She was a virtual client because she couldn’t get into my office for in-person appointments and she wanted to do the Bridges classes to earn points for material items to help with her financial burdens. 

After a couple of years of faithful attendance, we came to a point where we needed to seek new educational resources.   Because Amber loved to read, we began reading some books together. One of the books was Hope for the Weary Mom.  This was a book about how to go to God when parenting got hard, when we’re feeling overwhelmed, or just felt defeated as a parent.  One week in particular, it was about handling tragedies and having a foundation with the Lord before tragedy hits.  This weighed heavy on Amber’s heart, and as we talked, she revealed that she had asked the Lord into her heart and life many years back and expected to feel different but didn’t, so she just went on with life as usual.  As we talked about the need to feed and water our spiritual life for it to grow, I asked her if she would like to pray a prayer of rededication and she agreed.  We talked about prayer, reading Scripture, and going to church.  Since then, Amber has done several other studies with me to help her develop her relationship with the Lord.   It has been a process for her but she finally came to a point where she knew her children needed to know Jesus and she was ready to attend church. 

By Client Services Manager #2

While Amber did her Bridges lessons virtually with a client services manager at one of our other locations, the office I manage was closer to her home, making it easier for her to stop in for items she had earned.

Almost every week, Amber popped into my office to pick up diapers. It gave me an opportunity to listen, learn, encourage, and pray with her.

One spring day, she noticed a flyer on the front office counter about the annual Easter egg hunt at a church. She told me one of her friends was planning to go to the event and had invited Amber and her children to come along.

The next time Amber came for diapers, she could not stop talking about how much she and her family enjoyed not only the egg hunt, but the atmosphere at the church.

Nearly two years have passed since that egg hunt. Last month, Amber made the decision to walk through the doors of that church again, this time as a growing Christian mom, bringing her children with her on a search not for brightly colored eggs but for the saving grace of Christ and the love of a church family. Her children are currently having a blast at the Wednesday night kids’ program and Sunday School.

Amber is now meeting other young moms and being taken under the wing of some “seasoned saints.” She has time to learn and grow alongside other Christians in small study sessions and corporate worship while her children are being spiritually fed as well.

This story is the definition of our Bridges Program – to build a Bridge of relationship that starts here in our centers and can extend to the church to help our clients understand the love and grace that God offers to all.

 *Amber is a fictitious name to protect privacy