After getting to sleep at 3 a.m. on Sunday morning, and waking up around 6:00, I knew I would be dragging. But went to church and to work (for five hours).
Then I had agreed to spend the night at church, so I really did Deliberately go there to sleep. Our church is one of about a dozen in the community that is part of a 'round robin' type program that provides temporary housing for homeless families. We are the host for a week, about once a quarter. The program provides beds, we provide meals. The families (carefully screened) come on Sunday afternoon, with all their belongings, on the sponsoring van, prepared to stay for a week, leaving the following Sunday to go to the next host church. They are assisted during the day with writing resumes, finding employment, housing, as well as getting children enrolled in schools, or day care if needed.
Due to excellent screening process, most are stable when they leave the program, into housing, with steady jobs that will allow them to provide for their families. It is part of a nation wide program that assists in keeping families intact, as most shelters are designed for only one gender, and do not let parents stay together.
As you would expect with 3 hours of sleep the night before, I was ready for bed, tried out all the couches in the place, acting like Goldilocks looking for the perfect location. I knew I would end up on the cot provided by the VIP program, and was tucked in, reading myself to sleep by 9 p.m. Waiting for it to get dark, so I could close my eyes. And I did. Some of the volunteers who regularly support this program by providing meals, or having a sleep-over, each week of the cycle when families are in residence at our church have purchased T-shirts that say: "God Blesses Me When I Sleep In Church"... and under these circumstances: it's True.
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