“Mama! Mama! Mama!”

My heart stopped as I turned toward the voice. I watched anxiously for a relieved mother to come around the end of the isle desperately looking for her child. My stomach turned at the thought of a stranger getting to her before her mother or I did.

“Mama! Mama! Mama!” With each repeated call, her voice became more and more anxious. I quickened my pace toward her and watched the shoppers around us. No one seemed concerned that a child, approximately 4 years of age, was wandering around alone crying out for her mother. “What’s wrong with these people?!” I thought, “That is NOT normal!” Unsure if she’d trust me but determined not to leave her alone, I walked toward the youngster with a friendly (I hoped) smile on my face. I motioned for her to come toward me which, thankfully, she did.

The look on her face was one I doubt I’ll forget. Fear and relief, anxiety and trust, she seemed to be a package of conflict as I leaned down to talk to her. “Are you looking for your mom?” I asked. Sliding her hand into mine and offering me a smile that could melt ice, she nodded and said yes. Together, hand in hand, we walked toward customer service looking for her mother on each isle. I say “we” – I actually had no clue what her mother looked like but I felt better just knowing she was safe and would be with her family again soon.

I thought about how our Father feels when we stray from Him. The gospels of Matthew and Luke both tell “The Parable of the Lost Sheep.” Although they differ some in the telling, the message in each is the same: If we wander, He will search for us and rejoice when He finds us. One would want to question if someone loves us that much, why would we stray at all?

But just as my new little friend wandered away from her mother, we do tend to wander from time to time. Sometimes it’s a conscious decision – we fall for the lie that somehow He won’t accept us anymore because we’ve done this or that. We get selfish and want what we want instead of giving up what the world has to offer for eternal peace and ultimate freedom. Sometimes, it’s subconscious. We trade our time with Him for something that seems important at the time. We didn’t intend to stray. It was, after all, a worthwhile cause we substituted – one very Christian-like and loving. And the next day, there was that thing we forgot about that took all our time. And the day after that we just couldn’t wake up on time. And the day after that… Before we know it, it’s been so long we can’t remember the last time we paused for a moment with our Savior.

How comforting for us that He won’t leave us lost, alone and wandering aimlessly.

Her voice wavered as she spoke. My heart broke as I listened to her describe “not feeling right” before she fell and then “fading in and out of consciousness.” Tears formed as she told me about lying there for two days, alone, sick and needing help with no one coming to answer. I can’t comprehend what she went through. Imagine lying on your kitchen floor, mostly unconscious but even when consciousness comes, the realization that no one is coming to help robs you of the hope of ever living through your ordeal.

She described the next few weeks of her life with a determined tone in her voice. She vaguely recalls the police breaking down her door. She remembers coming-to in the hospital but she doesn’t remember when or how long she was “out.” She remembers going to the rehab center and later returning home to find the door that had been busted down hanging off the hinges and tied up. With no groceries in the house, she found assistance in her neighbor who charged her twenty dollars to take her to the store- even though the neighbor drove her car and used her gas.

After listening to her story and regaining my composure, I began to inquire as to who she was connected to. I was looking for someone, anyone I could contact to let them know she needed help. I asked about her church and the response I received will forever ring in my ears: “Oh, they won’t help me” she said. “You know who was willing to help me?” she asked suddenly. “Insert name of known cult group, that’s who!” My heart skipped a beat (or two) as she described how they would come in and read the Bible to her often, talk to her and even checked up on her after she went to the rehab center.

I wish I could tell you that this story is made up. It’s not. I have withheld names to protect those involved but it is very much true.

I wish I could tell you that her church was a very small church that simply didn’t have the resources to visit folks as often as they wanted. It’s not small, and not without resources.

I wish I could tell you that once I called the church, they jumped at the chance to help. I can’t. I left a message on the church answering machine and am still waiting on them to return my call.

All she wants is her door repaired and someone to show they care. She’s not the only one either. NCBAM and other groups just like us have waiting lists hundreds of names deep. Normally the needs are simple enough to identify but the monumental task is finding someone to help - someone to provide for those in need.

Not long ago, I began to wonder what the church looks like to those in need. Knowing they don’t differentiate between denominations or political lines, I conducted an admittedly non-scientific research experiment. I drove my car to one of the homes of an aging adult in need and starting from their driveway, I counted the churches I passed between their home and the grocery store. I was surprised to find I passed seven churches and saw road signs pointing out three more close by. In less than five miles, there were ten churches and yet she was still in need.

The church is not our church staff, the church building or even the church grounds. The church is a group of believers – those who proclaim to be called to a higher purpose. Yes, resources are down and needs are up. Yes, most every church is cutting corners and watching costs to keep the doors open. But we serve a God who promised to provide for our every need. He gives us all gifts so that we can have a part in His ministry. He asks us to take care of each other, to show others His love any and every way we can. He asks us to give out of our abundance so that everyone can have what they need.

"Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! (Luke 12: 15-24 NIV)