Ep. 56 - The Reluctant Hug - Road Trip Ft. Kelli Stawecki - Find the Good News with Oran Parker

It’s not easy for me to avert my gaze when I see someone in needs, especially the homeless or food impoverished. If you’ve listened to this show, then you know that images of the hungry affected me deeply when I was a little boy, and those photos haunt the hallways of my mind every single day. Still, being haunted by something doesn’t always motivate one to take action. I won’t lie to you and say that I’ve always helped or given, no matter how heavy my heart may have felt. Perhaps this is why I am humbled when I meet people who have said yes when the call to serve is placed on their heart, who go do the work even if circumstances aren’t favorable for them to do so. This is what I saw with my own eyes when I visited with Kelli Stawecki at the Waters Edge food pantry in Lake Charles, Louisiana for this Road Trip edition of Find the Good News. Like many, I had heard about the Waters Edge food pantry, understanding that they were serving the needs of the food impoverished and homeless in Southwest Louisiana, but what I didn’t grasp was the swelling number of homeless and impoverished in our area. While headlines boast an economic boom, there are families and individuals that cannot provide the basic needs for their children, or for themselves. While the needs increase, and resources decrease, Kelli Stawecki and the volunteers at the Waters Edge food pantry continue to arrive and serve food and supplies to those in need, but their hearts are bigger than even that. By allowing me to come and film, Kelli invited me into the presence of what I can only call the Loving Heart of God, burning hot with compassion. Many times throughout the day, I simply stood stunned by the waves of mercy I witnessed, and the eyes of gratitude that looked back from those being served. I felt the great blanket of equanimity in this space, and on the faces of each servant, I saw smiles, true joy. Kelli Stawecki and the volunteers at Waters Edge may be offering full bellies for those that enter the doors of their converted sanctuary, but if the love that expanded in my heart was any indication, then I believe those being served leave filled with something that of immeasurable value. They learn that they are seen and loved, that their existence matters. They are reminded that humanity is still good, no matter how hard the world may seem. This is the Good News I have been seeking, and I have found it yet again in Kelli Stawecki and the good people at Waters Edge. 

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