I often ponder heaven. Sometimes I wonder about little things, like if God’s light will warm my skin as the sun does. Most times, though, I wonder about the relationships I’ll have there. Each time I pour over Scripture to gain insight on what eternity will be like, I circle back to the same truth: it will be far more incredible than anything I could ever imagine.
I believe that God allows us to experience things in our lives that give us a taste of heaven, such as the sheer joy I felt when my children were born, the miraculous provision of God in the midst of a seemingly impossible situation, and worshiping Him alongside hundreds of women at a retreat.
When I walk through the doors of Woodside Pontiac, I taste heaven. Truly the heart of the city, Woodside Pontiac epitomizes our calling to be the hands and feet of Christ. There are the better known aspects of that, such as the meals served after service, the services offered through its Dream Center, and the busses that bring churchgoers to and from service every weekend.
And then there are the people. The people who sacrifice, serve, and love others. The people who make all of those wonderful services happen. People like Patrice.
Patrice is one of those people who just has a presence about her. The kind of person where just being with them makes you feel this significance you haven’t experienced before. When she looks at you, she doesn’t just look at you. She sees you. She sees your heart, your gifts, your needs. The best part about her, though, is that she doesn’t stop there; she loves, she prays, and she serves. Affectionately referred to as “Momma,” it comes as no surprise that Patrice is at the heart of this church.
When I met with her so she could tell me her story, Patrice didn’t start with herself. She began by sharing story after story of how God orchestrated opportunities for her to meet different people…people He called her to serve. From taking them to detox, to walking alongside them as they started fresh, to providing shelter and food for them, to praying with and over them, Patrice answered every call from God.
One of the most impactful stories she told me was of a homeless woman and her son who had been sleeping in a park. One rainy night, the woman called Patrice and asked if they could stay with her just until it stopped raining. Knowing God had brought this woman and her son to her, Patrice welcomed them into her home. A few weeks ago, that woman came to church. She started working, has a car and is flourishing.
“The Lord has allowed me to move nine different families into our home. A lot of the people that have come and stayed with us have prospered. God knows who He needs to put in people’s lives to help them at that time.”
At the core of every story Patrice shared is the unwavering faith she has in God. Often facing criticism or doubt from other people, she presses forward, confident in our Heavenly Father and the mission He has charged her with. With so many societal pressures to be different than God calls us to be, to conform to a mold fabricated by a mixture of influence from the media, our culture, and our insecurities, the challenge Patrice faces to serve God in the ways she does would make most of us stop before we even truly considered starting. But like she said, “God knows who He needs to put in people’s lives to help them at that time.”
With each passing moment of our time together, it became more and more evident that God’s placement of Patrice at Woodside Pontiac was unquestionably intentional. In a place where everyone who enters feels fully known and unconditionally loved exists a woman who loves people as they are, where they are, and how they need to be loved because she is precisely what God has called her to be: a faithful steward of the gifts God bestowed unto her.
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10