September 2009 - It's God who makes the match

It's God who makes the match
 
I used to think Urban Gleaning was the charity donation/distribution side of The Warehouse—one of those places people go to dump the stuff they’re going to throw out anyway. As the saying goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” I’ve since observed that Urban Gleaning operates with a different set of standards, taking its guiding philosophy from Leviticus 23:22:
"When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of the field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien."  
This approach suggests that “giving” constitutes more than merely discarding worn out, obsolete old stuff. Rather, it’s a portion we intentionally set aside from the abundance we’ve been given. This portion is something that still has value, worth and will bring someone dignity by receiving it. We are challenged to be prayerful and mindful of what we give.
Last week, Urban Gleaning received a call from a family in Newlands. They were redecorating their children’s bedroom and wanted to pass on the furniture that they were replacing. Time givers from The Warehouse drove to the family’s home and loaded the van with the good quality items. Almost immediately, Urban Gleaning received a call through a church link from a woman involved in the Adonis Musati Project, an organisation providing humanitarian assistance to refugees. They were opening a “safe house” for teenage refugees and needed furniture. The van, already fully loaded, went straight to the empty house. When the truck arrived, some teenagers were there to offload it. When they finished, they asked if The Warehouse time givers wouldn’t mind driving the van to a shop a few blocks away to pick up some bunk beds they had purchased for the house. When the woman selling the bunk beds heard they were going to a house for teenage refugees, she was happy to donate extra furniture for nothing. The house, which had been empty that morning, was well on its way to being fully-furnished by the afternoon.
What makes this story so incredible, and still so typical of Urban Gleaning, is how perfectly the donation responded to the need. All those involved in the chain of giving—the family in Newlands, the time givers driving the truck, the teenagers from the safe house, and the woman donating the bunk beds—were instrumental in facilitating the match, but it could only have been God who was making it.
I am struck by how Urban Gleaning continuously demonstrates God’s awareness of our specific desires. We are not too bold for thinking that the gift we have discerned to give is the perfect provision for someone else. And it isn’t audacious to believe that we can be given exactly what we need, when we need it. Philippians 4:19 is called to mind, “and my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
Hailey Gaunt, Time giver, Communications and Advocacy

 


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