"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." -- Isaiah 43:19 

Sara is a team leader at Feed My Starving Children. This post is part of a series where Feed My Starving Children staff share their FMSC story. Follow along on social media with #MyFMSCStory. 

To really share my FMSC story I have to go back a few years. How does a 40+ year-old homeschooling mom to nine end up working for Feed My Starving Children?

Well let me tell you, it is something that I never would have imagined myself doing in a million years, but yet now I see how God can use each and every detail of your story to wind you through this journey of life and use every bit of it: the ugly, the dark and the beautiful times to creatively weave it together for good and His glory. Our lives really can tell HIS story. 

Almost nine years ago, my husband and I had moved to a brand new city with our four children. We knew very few people but were thrilled to start fresh in church ministry with baby number five due in a couple of months. Sadly, at 40 weeks and 1 day our beautiful 9 lb. son Samuel stopped moving and was born still the next day.

When you carry a baby for 40 weeks and suddenly and shockingly don’t get to hear them cry, see them move or bring them home from the hospital like you were expecting, everything changes. To say that I was heartbroken would be an understatement. My heart felt shattered into a million pieces.

At first I didn’t see how God could EVER possibly use it for good, nor did I care. The pain I was feeling would never make anything good seem worth it. I didn’t see how God could redeem or bring anything new or good from the devastated place I was living in. But slowly as I wrestled through my grief, I could feel my perspective changing and could hear myself uttering, “Lord, please don’t waste this pain!”

And He didn’t. God planted those shattered pieces of my heart and has grown my life into something even more precious than I could have anticipated.

Through losing our son Samuel, God worked in me new passions, new strength and definitely a renewed faith in HIM. I had truly seen His faithfulness through my darkest of days. He miraculously added three new children to our family through domestic adoption and another through embryo adoption. Our hearts and arms were full! While those were HUGE blessings and answers to prayer, the work He has done in my heart is really what brought me to FMSC.

He opened my eyes to hurting families, to overseas mission work in Uganda, to orphan care, to street children, to poverty around the world -- all preparing my heart for my job at FMSC.

He had given my life a different sense of purpose, on top of my main ministry as mom and wife, than I had ever felt before. I know through Samuel’s life and loss, God brought a new richness to so much in my life. I wouldn’t see things the way I do now had I not experienced the heartache I had. It taught me to treasure every day things and every moment.

When my son Louis left his job as a team leader at the Schaumburg site of FMSC to work for MobilePack, I knew I had to apply for the job. It was taking these new passions I had (overseas missions and such, which isn’t easy to accomplish with eight kids at home!) and brought them right into my back yard. 

Working at FMSC has been such a huge blessing in my life and my whole family’s life.

When you work your way into our hearts, when my kids fall in love with you you become a part of our family, and that is exactly what FMSC is.  

FMSC has become extended family to us.

Through FMSC I have seen the good in people as thousands come through our doors each week to give of their time and treasures to feed God’s kids.

I have seen into the eyes of hurting moms around the world who are watching their kids starve to death every day and realized that I really am not any different than them. How did I become so blessed to be born here with so much instead of in a developing country with so little? We can’t sit idly by and watch it continue to happen.

I have seen sweet friendships formed with such a unique variety of people.

I have seen a faith family who lifts one another up multiple times each day in prayer for each another, our mission and our volunteer’s needs.

I have seen a leader in CEO/Executive Director Mark Crea, who astounds me with his humble heart, a passion for our mission and an amazing way of constantly pointing it all back to God!

I have seen fun, laughter, tears, passion, faith and a whole lot of love from being a part of the FMSC family.

My life was already full, but now it is even more full. And it is a sweet gift to my heart to be a part of FMSC.

As God continues His story in my life, He is using FMSC to bring forth sweet new blessings each day, and I am so thankful to be a part of this team!

What new things is God doing in your life? Join FMSC as He does new things in us and in the lives of the kids we serve and feed.  

He doesn’t waste anything. 

Do you want an FMSC story? Come work with us! Current staff — send your story with photos to social@fmsc.org. We can’t wait to hear your FMSC story.