Bound By Love

from March 2020

When Worry Comes Knocking

by Evie West I came to Cleveland on January 8, 1996. It was never my plan; in fact, it was sort of against my will. I was a teenager, recently graduated from high school with a 2-year-old son and a life that had spiraled out of control. Cleveland was the last hope my parents had to save my life. The trip to LAX was a quiet one, and when the gate agent began to board the plane with passengers, I didn’t even bother to give my parents a second look goodbye. I was angry, and they were sad.

Five hours later, I landed in Atlanta, Georgia, and began my commute to my new home. Six weeks had passed, and I was settling into an unfurnished apartment on 4th Street NW. I seemed to adjust quickly to my new groove as a Lee College student, although I was different than the traditional student. As much as I wanted to be a normal teenage student who lived on campus, the reality was, I was a single mom who had a 2-year-old. So I stayed on campus as late as I could and then would walk the half mile

back to my apartment to put my son in bed. One Friday night, we arrived home to our small apartment only to find a bag of popcorn and a few ounces of milk. I would have to get through the weekend with no food. I was embarrassed, afraid, and anxious. I popped the popcorn, gave my son the last bit of milk, put him in bed, and sat against my wall in my small living room. I cried until I was too tired to cry anymore. The next morning, I devised a plan to take my son to the park to play so he would forget about breakfast. Hungry and tired, I brushed his teeth, combed his hair, and put on his sweatshirt. I talked about the park and the fun we would have, the whole time worrying about how I would feed my son that day. I took his hand, walked across the living room, and opened the door to six full bags of groceries.

Bread, peanut butter, milk, eggs, pancake mix, fruit, cheese, and oatmeal were just a few of the things that filled the bags. At the time, I was so humbled to receive the gift of food, but as I have gotten older, I have realized that the greater gift is for the giver. Imagine being the one obedient to the voice of the Father to shop for a teenager and her son so early in the morning! Imagine canceling your plans because He has something different for you to do today! Imagine forfeiting sleep to get up to grocery shop so when a hungry, young mother opens her door for the day, she is encountered by love. There was no obligation, no contract, and no payback, yet His love for me

bounded me to Him forever.