December 2024
[From Kevin] Beth Penfield has some wonderful memories tucked into her heart after being a Shiloh Mom for 26 Christmas seasons. Let her retelling of one such story warm your heart on a brisk December day…
We interviewed a young blonde-haired teenager named Ashley twenty-one years ago with her parents. She came from along legacy of Christian family members, all of whom had tried several ways to reach her hurting heart but to no avail and she seemed to be spiraling downward.
When she arrived at our home shortly after…pretty quiet at first, but we could tell there was a lot under the surface we would be dealing with…anger…low self-esteem…self-destruction…struggled in school…always trying to have the last word…and a bitterness that we couldn’t tell where it was coming from.
She settled in okay with our house full of kids, but I could tell she was continuing to have struggles along the way. (Who wouldn’t living with ten other young “instant sisters” and a younger brother around!!!)
With lots of life lessons along the way plus being poured into by family, her Shiloh community, our church family, and many God sent into her path at just the right time, we began to see Ashley starting to open up more. Slowly some of the “baggage” she had carried around for years began to “come out”. She seemed to walk less “weighed down”…we sensed a renewing her relationship with her family back home…and a stronger Ashley emerging.
Jumpstart three years later, when we watched as four of our girls sat on our church stage…ready to graduate from Shiloh Christian School with a high school diploma…and one of them was Ashley. We couldn’t have been prouder!
Her first few years on her own were not as easy as she had anticipated but God continued to guide her and bring people into her life right when she needed them most. She entered St. Louis Christian College and while it proved not to be the right path for her, her time there was not wasted as God led her to meet her future husband by the name of J.D.
They married and have now had 5 children together…four sweet girls and a handsome boy. It is such a joy to see the husband and wife they’ve become as well as their love for their children. Ashley has been a dedicated stay at home Momma, homeschooling her children…doing a phenomenal job at doing the “extras” to help her children learn and grow in their skills.
Ashley would be the first to admit that life isn’t always easy, but she has come a long way and continues to learn how to deal with situations in better ways than when she was that struggling teenager.
Another strength comes from them having a great support system…some may say “ironically” but we say God-led. Years ago when J.D. was in the police force, he began serving in a place Ashley had visited many times during her stay with us…Ken’s hometown. They began attending the church we attended and he had grown up in…and they welcomed Ashley and J.D. and their family with open arms. We were so proud to see how the church connected to our Shiloh ministry in a whole new way…by continuing to plant seeds and nurturing…and being the support system Ashley and family need to keep moving forward…together as part of God’s family.
Now instead of just being Mom and Dad, we’ve become Grandma and Grandpa to their children. Every time we visit Ken’s Mom, their kiddos request we meet at their favorite snow cone place and feast on some cold treats, get caught up on what’s happening in their lives, and get caught up on hugs…because Ashley h as hear it said many times, “You may leave our home someday, but you’ll never leave our hearts…we’ll always be family.”
Beth Penfield