How to Serve Others With Littles at Home

Have you ever felt that being a mom to young children has kept you from others? There have been seasons where just keeping us fed, clothed and somewhat clean took all the strength I could muster. Currently, I have chosen to take time away from “ministering” in any official capacity to ensure I’m serving my children, ages 7, 5, and 1, well.

This has proven to be a wise decision for our family, but I long to impact people beyond my front door.

This year two families close to ours have fought cancer, one unexpectedly, and the other as part of a lifelong leukemia battle. Others have welcomed new babies or faced deployment {or both!}. Here are some ways we’ve found to serve others that fit alongside our family’s daily life:

1. Be the organizer . As Beth mentioned, having meals delivered is such a blessing. Even if you’re not able to bring meals, offer to organize meal donation. Sites like Take Them a Meal and Meal Train are free and easy to use. These sites help the family answer the question, “Is there anything I can do to help?” People are able to give in an organized fashion without knowing each other, with very little input from the recipient. For our friends whose 8-year-old battled cancer this past year, we used the site to organize dinners, lawn care, and other needed services. You can update these sites whenever you have a minute, even from your phone, and spread the word through your church and on social media.

2. Shop and cook with sharing in mind. Cooking is one of my love languages. I love nourishing others, and I feel cared for when someone cooks for me. I know that’s not true for everyone {more on that in a minute}. But even if it’s all you can do to get dinner on the table for your brood, you can still share food with others without spending much extra time or money. This fall and winter we shared meals about once per week. At first, it took extra time and effort. But soon, when I considered our weekly menu, I thought of foods that were easy to double, always netted us leftovers, and were tasty, even reheated. We made lots of soups {sweet potato and kale, baked potato bisque, pasta e fagioli, beef bourguignon}, a few casseroles {chicken enchiladas, maple roasted chicken and sweet potatoes}, and even some stir fries. I had a plan in mind while I shopped, then I packed up dinner for our friends during the course of cooking for our family. Sometimes we had dinner packed up without even knowing who it was going to! But it never went to waste, and it was such a joy to be able to support so many friends in this way.

3. Make it easy. Share meals in containers you don’t need back. Make a habit of saving a few paper grocery bags and grabbing extra disposable plastic or aluminum containers when you’re running errands. I also snag paper labels from the dollar section at Target or from Michaels so I have them on hand. They’re not necessary, but having these items makes it easier to commit to helping, knowing it won’t require trips to a special store. Labeling the food you give and including reheating instructions makes it easy for the recipient.

4. Don’t over think it. For years, when presented with an opportunity to help, I thought it might be awkward if I didn’t know the person well. I reasoned that others in their lives were likely supporting them already; I worried they wouldn’t like what I prepared. Then, after the birth of our son, we lived where we knew hardly anyone and had no family close by. Women I hadn’t even met brought me dinner without my even having to ask for help. I vowed never to use those old excuses again. You can bless others even if you’re not a great cook, even if you don’t know them well—trust that your gift will be a blessing. I tend to make something our family likes, that I’ve made before, and I always pray over it as I prepare it. Sometimes I hedge my bets by bringing a bag of frozen organic chicken nuggets and veggies for the kids, just in case. But I’ve resolved to do what I can and share what I have, with love and prayer, and that seems to be enough.

5. It doesn’t have to be food. As Beth shared, food is only one way to support a family in need. Find out their favorite place for takeout and buy a gift card. Pick up a gift card for the grocery store while you’re doing your shopping. When you’re heading out to run errands, ask what you can pick up for them. My friend Emily, whose son has one chemo treatment left, says that those who “just did” were the biggest blessing, those who left cards and gifts or dinners on her doorstep, those who did not wait for permission to help. One of the beautiful ways our community has supported her family is by decorating their porch {and sometimes their whole neighborhood!} with signs of support. That brave little boy knows when he leaves the house each treatment day that he can count on encouragement from the “front porch ninjas,” and it makes the days a little easier to face. Friends also take turns leaving care packages on the porch—games, gift cards, balloons, activities that can be played in bed, movies, or trinkets for the rest of the family— on chemo days. When our friend arrives home, he is reminded again that he is loved and supported.

It has been such an honor to support our friends in this way, and an unexpected joy to show our children how to love others well, even in the midst of busy daily life.

What are ways you’ve found to help others even while home with little ones?

Check out more tips and ideas for sharing love with families in need from our very own Beth Holmes, currently battling breast cancer. And as you check out her post, take a moment and say a prayer for our friend and warrior.