Ep. 22 - The Call To Care Ft. Jody Farnum - Find the Good News with Oran Parker

I’ve always found it hard to ignore the suffering and strife of my fellow man, and during the times in my life when I actually could stiffen my neck and avert my eyes, I’ve been filled with something that I can only call shame. I’ve been guilty of looking around the world, seeing people in difficult times, and like many, I’ve said, “Somebody should do something about that,” only to continue about the business of me. As it turns out, people are doing something and they’ve been doing it in my hometown—Sulphur, Louisiana—for over 35 years. Jody Farnum, the Director of Care-Help in Sulphur, came to visit with me on Find the Good News and expanded my understanding of the extent to which Care-Help serves individuals and families right here at home. To say my mind was blown would be putting it mildly. Care-Help is serving the less-fortunate of Sulphur in a capacity that is really hard to comprehend, especially considering the modest location where they operate. To the average passerby, Care-Help might appear to be a simple thrift store that rejuvenates, repairs, and re-sells donated goods to the public. What you find out if you push through the surface a bit further is that the funds received from those sales are transformed into care and help in the form of food, services, and resources for a growing number of needy right here in our area. Sometimes, the difference between stability and despair is a matter of luck. Many of us, the lucky ones, don’t know what it’s like to be in dire straights, to really be at the mercy of human kindness and compassion. We know where our next meal is coming from. We can pay our bills. We have our health. Our jobs are secure. We have friends, family, loved ones, neighbors, and co-workers that have helped us along the way, that care about us, and would assist us in our hour of need. For some, that security, that safety net, simply does not exist, and that is where the loving labor of Care-Help in Sulphur gets engaged. Jody is no stranger to struggles. She has been on the outside looking in. She’s climbed peaks, and fallen into valleys. Her experiences have given her eyes free of judgment, allowing her to look on her neighbors with love, and the vision to lead the altruistic employees and volunteers that she surrounds herself with. She told me that if you look, if you’re paying attention, then Christ will appear in your life every single day. For Jody, He often walks through the doors of Care-Help in Sulphur needing food, clothes, or things to make His shelter, His life, a little more comfortable, a little more bearable. Care-Help in Sulphur doesn’t turn people away. Care-Help in Sulphur turns the disregarded and leftovers into blessings, and the people they help often return the kindness by coming back to Care-Help to serve others. Good news looks different for each of us depending on our lot in life. For many people in Sulphur, Louisiana, good news looks like Jody Farnum and a little facility called Care-Help.

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THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY PARKER BRAND CREATIVE SERVICES >> www.ParkerBrandUp.com

FOR MORE INFO ON CARE HELP >> http://www.care-help.org/