Dawn Hood
Hi! My name is Dawn Hood and I’m very excited to share a little bit of my story with you. I have a wonderful family: my husband, Richard; three children, Alex (17), Rachel (8) and Stephen (4 ¾!); and Tiger, our old but still very spunky lab-chow mix. There’s so much I want to tell you; I’m inviting you to go grab a cup of your favorite whatever and settle in. I believe you’ll find an encouraging word as you read how God brought three very diverse women into a ministry such as ALS.In November of 2001, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer while pregnant with my 3rd child (Stephen). Three surgeries, an infection, and four rounds of chemo later, our precious miracle child was born and I immediately began 6 weeks of intense radiation treatments. As things were finally starting to feel “normal” again in our household our entire adult Sunday School department, along with our Pastor, was going through Rick Warren’s 40 Days of Purpose study. I knew I was hungry for just that kind of “something” in my life…to find why I was here in the first place. Why did I survive my cancer battle when so many others didn’t? God was “stirring things up” in me, so to speak. I kept telling Richard that at the end of the day I felt like all I had done was spin my wheels, never really accomplishing anything. Yes, I was having my quiet time with the Lord, I was taking care of my home and family, spending quality and quantity time with my children and investing in friendships but there was a piece to the puzzle that didn’t fit and I couldn’t get my hands on it.
Lori Shackleford and I had become dear friends over the years and I witnessed first-hand her journey with Al and Lyla Stone during the last months of his life. I was able to prepare a few meals and visit with Lyla a couple of times, but that was the extent of it. I even prepared a few meals for Lori’s family in the last few weeks before Al’s death when she was spending lots and lots of time at their house. After Al went home to be with the Lord, we were having lunch one day and she said, “I can’t believe this is over. I don’t know what to do.” I didn’t even consciously think about what I was getting ready to say when I told her, “it doesn’t have to be…make it a ministry.” We looked at each other like, “well, duh!!” The more I prayed about it, the more I began to get hungry for “this” to take off. We reasoned that there had to be more families in our large church that needed just this kind of help and we wanted the phone to start ringing. Not just to have something to do, but we really sensed God’s prompting to move forward.
I called our Pastoral Care Department at the church one afternoon and asked if a particular family I knew of could use our help. Miss Imogene Bell, Jan Flegle’s elderly mother, was terminally ill with cancer. We received the “ok” from Pastoral Care so Lori and I scheduled our first meeting. Less than 3 weeks later, Miss Imogene went home to be with Jesus. But those three weeks were some of the most fulfilling I have ever known. We did little things like make bank deposits, buy postage stamps, pick up medicine and groceries, and read the Bible to Miss Imogene. And pray. And listen. My little Stephen and I swept the front porch and watered plants. It was incredibly satisfying. I’ll never forget Jan telling us, “you know, I’ve been wanting to give Mother a pedicure and I just couldn’t find the time. Thank you for doing some of this for me…I’m going to take care of Mother’s feet today.”
About that same time, God brought Alexis Brown right into the middle of all it and after Miss Imogene’s death, the three of knew instantly that God was opening doors, not just a little bit but wide open. Henry Blackaby says, “find out what God is doing and get in on it”. God was making it very clear that He was doing this and we couldn’t have been happier to be in on it! He has given us wise counsel through our sweet pastor, Dr. Johnny Hunt, and the Pastoral Care Department of our church. God has given me strength that I didn’t know I had. He has enabled me to schedule the needs of my family and the needs of this ministry without conflict. Lori and I occasionally take our children with us to visit our families and they help water plants or draw pictures to share with them. Our goal is simply to help by serving. I think I speak for all three of us when I say that we don’t want families to look at us…we want to point them to Jesus. For me personally, the verse of Scripture that God has used to really cement this is Psalms 115:1, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your Name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness.”
Now, almost 2 years into our ministry, we have worked with 23 families, most of whom we have had the privilege of walking alongside as their loved one went home to be with Jesus. It is an honor to serve these precious families as we continually seek to be “Jesus with skin on”. Thanks for taking the time to read my story. And remember:
“Life is hard. God is good. Don’t get the two confused”
Spread the Word!
