I’ve been longing to share this story about a sweet widow OnRamp has been able to help through your generosity. To protect her identity, we’ll call her “Naomi,” a widow from the book of Ruth in the Old Testament. She lives out in the country in a home of her own off a dirt road. She and her husband built a family there, with four generations living under one roof. But just like Naomi, both her husband and her son died, leaving her on her own to care for her family. That family includes her elderly mother, her disabled daughter, and her grandkids. All together, they need to get to as many as ten doctor appointments per month, all of which are a long distance from home. They also need to get to the store, school, and church on a regular basis. All of this would have been challenging on its own. But then the family’s only working vehicle broke down, threatening their health and survival. While Naomi never lost her remarkably deep faith in God’s love and provision, she knew her family needed assistance.
The book of James tells us that “Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their adversity…” This should not surprise us since God Himself is described by Psalm 68 as a, “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.” And in Isaiah’s opening chapter, we are commanded, “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.” In other words, while there are many aspects of religion we may disagree and argue about, the priority of caring for widows should be one thing around which we can all unite.
Fortunately, the Lord brought fellow believers to Naomi at just the right moment. A brother-in-Christ who knew her well nominated her to OnRamp at the same time that a generous Christian family donated an excellent condition Chevy Tahoe to our ministry. The pieces fell together perfectly, and Naomi was blessed a year ago with this vehicle. In addition, the dirt road leading to her house needed improvement, and the house itself needed repairs that would have been completed by her husband or son in years past. Again, God’s family stepped up. A retired engineer volunteered his services and brought a team to fix the house and driveway and ensure that Naomi’s family had all they needed to thrive.
But this story isn’t over yet. Unfortunately, Naomi’s knees began to give out. Tahoe’s are tall vehicles, and after a year of driving the Tahoe, she could no longer climb into the drivers’ seat without significant pain, and struggled to help her mom and daughter into the vehicle. Her advocate saw her difficulty and reached out to OnRamp. This is where you can see the heart of this ministry God has given us. We’d already “counted” Naomi on our roster of cars successfully given away. We’d already supported her for a full year. But neither James nor Isaiah qualified their commands with, “for twelve months.” OnRamp is about the long game. It’s about generational transformation. So we went to work to find a replacement, and one month later, replaced the Tahoe with a pristine Sienna minivan that’s easy for drivers and passengers to get in and out of. Now Naomi and her family have the next vehicle they need to continue the journey God has placed before them. This, as best as we can tell, is what God’s love for widows looks like for our ministry.
One final note. Without a working vehicle, it is unlikely that Naomi could continue to take care of her elderly mom and disabled daughter in her own home. Transportation is absolutely essential to health and safety. So it is likely that they would have had to move into state-sponsored care. Not only would this separate a family full of love, it would also cost the state tens of thousands of dollars per year. $10,000 (our average cost to provide one vehicle plus a full year of maintenance) has saved tens of thousands in public assistance plus kept four generations blessed together under one roof. So not only is this generous gift you all made possible in alignment with God’s heart for widows, it is also a phenomenally efficient use of funds. It’s a win-win!
If you’d like to help us bless more families like Naomi’s please consider donating funds or reliable vehicles to OnRamp. Just click the “Give” link on our website.