Can One Person Make a Difference?

 

“Don’t worry what you could do if you lived your life over; get busy with what’s left.” Amish proverb

The Calling, book 2 in the ‘Inn at Eagle Hill’ series (Revell), was inspired by a remarkable woman in the San Francisco Bay Area named Mother Williams. In the novel, it took five Amish sisters to do the work of one Mother Williams. You can read for yourself why the story of Mother Williams was such an inspiration to a novel:

Can one person make a difference? Even a woman who might be, say, considered elderly?

Consider Victoria Williams of Richmond, California. Eleven years ago, when Victoria was 77 (!), she saw a need in her community for a weekly soup kitchen. She knew she was a good cook, but she would need some qualifications to serve others. So she took the required courses for food safety and preparation and got to work.

On Thursday mornings, Victoria—known as Mother Williams—prepares food in her church’s kitchen that she has gathered from the local Food Bank and from donations. On Fridays, she serves lunch.

“For a very long time, Mother Williams worked in the soup kitchen alone,” volunteer Becky Blakey said. “She had a creative system. First she would use her cane to prop open the door, then she would pull the boxes of food into the kitchen with her cane.”

After a video was made about Mother Williams, it was shown at my church. Mother Williams was in attendance that morning and received a standing ovation from the congregation. Becky Blakey went up to meet Mother Williams to ask if she could come and help prep food on Thursdays. Of course! Mother Williams told her.

Becky started to volunteer regularly. Soon, her friends joined her. “Mother Williams has a couple of rules,” Becky said. “She wants those who come for lunch to be served so they don’t stand in a cafeteria-like line. They have a place to sit at a table and are served a plate of food. And before everyone eats, she insists they hear a word from the Lord. ‘Jesus gave you this day,’ she says. ‘He didn’t have to do that, but He did. So now we are going to hear His words.’ And then she’ll read a few verses of Scripture.”

Currently, at age 88, Mother Williams and her team of volunteers serve over one hundred lunches every Friday.

Can one person make a difference? Yes.

At any age? Absolutely.

Can one person make a difference? @Grit_Grace @SuzanneWFisher
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Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of the Inn at Eagle Hill series, Lancaster County Secrets series, and the Stoney Ridge Seasons series, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including “Amish Peace.” She is also the coauthor of a new Amish children’s series, The Adventures of Lily Lapp. Her interest in the Anabaptist cultures can be directly traced to her grandfather, who was raised in the Old Order German Baptist Brethren Church in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Suzanne is a Carol Award winner and a Christy Award finalist. She is a columnist for Christian Post and Cooking & Such magazines. She lives in California. For more information, please visit suzannewoodsfisher.com and connect with her on Twitter, @suzannewfisher. Get Amish proverbs delivered right to your mobile device! Download the Free App! http://bit.ly/10Tygyi

New from Suzanne

Bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher delivers her trademark twists, turns, and tender romance in this delightful and exciting visit to the deceptively quiet community of Stoney Ridge.

Twenty-year-old Bethany Schrock is restless. Her love life has derailed, her faith hangs by a thread, and she is spending the incredibly hot summer days wading through a lifetime’s accumulation of junk at the home of five ancient Amish sisters. About the only thing that holds her interest is the spirited and dangerously handsome Jimmy Fisher–and he seems bent on irritating her to no end.

When the sly old sisters and a guest at the Inn get Bethany involved in running the local soup kitchen and starting a community garden, she suddenly finds herself wondering, Shootfire! How did that happen? Despite her newfound purposefulness, a gnawing emptiness about a childhood mystery continues to plague her. Encouraged by Jimmy Fisher, she will seek out the answers she craves–and uncover a shocking secret that will break her heart, heal it, and point her to love.

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