Good Works and Good News During a Bad Season: Stories of Grace

Last updated on: March 25, 2020 at 8:36 am by Nijay Gupta

Good Works and Good News During a Bad Season: Stories of Grace 2020-03-25T08:36:32-08:00 Nijay Gupta

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The giveaway contest for A Beginner’s Guide to New Testament Studies has ended, congrats to A. M.!

Part of this contest was collecting good news and good works stories during pandemic, isolation, and distress. Here are some of the stories that were shared with me:

I love how our community is coming together and exhibiting kingdom living. Our school district lunch ladies announced they will feed anyone needing food regardless of income. Cheers and stay healthy!

I’m a pastor, and my wife and I are having a baby in May (our first!). We had to make the difficult decision to cancel our baby shower that was scheduled to be on March 14th due to concerns around COVID-19. Our congregation extended kind words of comfort after making that decision, and in the following days our home was filled with all of the gifts they had purchased for our child. This was a beautiful display of kindness we received.

My wife and I happened to notice a suspicious insta-story post from our upstairs neighbor (another young family of four), where the mom mentioned the day’s ration of TP: one square. We didn’t hoard by any means, but we happened to buy our normal smaller bulk package of TP just before things got crazy, so we offered a roll in case the insta-story post was more of a commentary on the ridiculous than an honest but understated plea. It turned out to be their last square…so we hygienically brought up two rolls and made the deeper connection that kindness and shared humility brings. Hopefully, two rolls will carry them through a bit and they’re able to find more…but if not, we let them know we’ll always be here to help with whatever we can. Oh the simple things!

I have a friend who simply doesn’t have the money to pay for anything now that her mother passed away. Although I am on disability, I want her to succeed in life and sent her $200 to purchase a mattress. I found out she had been sleeping on the floor, or in a chair, for quite a while. She is a precious child of God, and I am compelled to do all I can with what limited resources I have to work with. But no doubt, God is so good to me, and the only request I have made of her is to simply help others whenever she has a chance to do so in the future.

A friend of mine is pregnant and has a history of medical issues so she is self-quarantining. Consequently she missed a wedding. In an effort to show her that she is not forgotten, I am going to send her and her husband a surprise care package. Just waiting on everything to arrive so we can ship it to them.

Our church has suspended gatherings due to Covid-19. We wanted to find ways to bless our people. This week we called all the elderly and sick in our congregation. One woman cried as she told us she is sick and unable to get prescriptions. We were able to get her medicine and some basic necessities to assist her. This is the body of Christ at work in an uncertain time.

My wife and I were establishing a church in Turkey. We just returned after unexpectedly being forced to leave. A difficult aspect of this for my wife was having to get rid of her plants. Our home in Turkey was filled with them. A few older ladies at our sending church heard about this, so to help [my wife] feel at home, they furnished a home for us and filled it with plants.

One of my wife’s friends was laid off from Disney World and lost her housing as a result of the outbreak. One of her coworkers tested positive for the virus. Her dad is immunocompromised, so rather than risk getting him sick because she knew she had been exposed, my wife and I invited her to stay with us for the next couple weeks. We figure if we get sick we are young and healthy. But our friend’s dad is at a severe risk if he gets sick.

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