Relationship vs Charity

Chico called from North Carolina to share he has settled into an apartment & college in Moorsville’s “NASCAR Technical Institute” (NTI).

Chico, a kid who started in the late ‘90s attending  our youth ministry of Club House, did our teen ministry Coffee House, put himself through Lincoln Technical College with a little help from us, got his GED here at ROP, and worked hard enough that his teacher recommended him to the NASCAR Technical Institute.

What we provided in needs? Bus passes, groceries, clothing, community service hours, school supplies, tutoring, shoes, diapers, formula & baby supplies, too, when he became a father.

So was it our little bit of physical charity and his own determination that changed Chico’s life?

Honestly? No.  Even when inching forward in positive ways, Chico struggles with temptations of the world and his own flesh.

He has struggled with drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, a child at 18 with no standing to gain full custody, the death of his father, his mother’s cancer, supporting his family, his anger, frustration, and yes, even apathy or fear in doing the unfamiliar.

I think many of us can say we share some of these same weaknesses of flesh in our lives.  I know I have fallen so hard, at times in my life, that only God could pick me back up.

For Chico, it started with his relationships with everyday Christians sharing time and attention, guidance and sometimes a resource or two.  As he grew, he came to recognize Christ’s hand in his life. Now he is looking for God in all things.  Will it all be easy from now on? No, but he walks with a Savior & a body of believers who know him and love him.