Hope in the Storm - Learning to Lean on God

2012 was a devastating year for Lee Singer. On January 21, 2012, her 23-year-old son, Corporal Singer, died while deployed to Afghanistan. Just a few months later, Lee, who worked as a special needs teacher in the local school system, experienced a back injury that would put her in the hospital for surgery and out of work for months.

Lee’s family was reduced to relying on just one paycheck as she recovered from her surgery. How would she and her husband provide for their three children? Lee prayed for God to provide, and she continually prayed for God’s peace. “PEACE” was a word that was woven through her prayers and through her thoughts. When a friend told her to try Saddleback’s PEACE Center, she knew it was God’s prompting.

The Saddleback Church PEACE Center is a resource center for the community including a food pantry, low-cost medical clinic, legal aid, ESL classes, and more. The Food Pantry gives away more than 1 million pounds of food to families in need each year.

“The day I walked into the PEACE Center was three months, to the day, that our son had died,” says Lee. “Walking in to the PEACE Center was the hardest thing I had to do. But I walked into a room of people waiting patiently for their names to be called for food. When my name was called, I was greeted with a smile. We were filled up with unlimited produce, bread, proteins, and staples. At that moment, I knew that our prayers had been answered. And I knew that God would never leave us or forsake us.”

As Lee continued to visit the PEACE Center each month, she brought her husband and son, Jordan, who is 14-years-old and has Asperger syndrome. After one of their visits, Jordan asked Lee if they could return the next day, but this time to serve. That began a new chapter in Lee’s life as she and Jordan returned almost every day that summer to serve others. Jordan was welcomed by the PEACE staff with open arms, and he learned how to load carts and help others get the food they needed.

Walking out of the PEACE Center doors was the most rewarding thing that has happened to me. I am able to rely on God more than I ever thought possible. In the Bible God says ‘I will supply all your needs’ and he truly did.”

To learn more about the Saddleback PEACE Center, click here.