Three weeks ago I thought I may lose my kids. Not due to drug or alcohol abuse or for lack of love or parental support but because of homelessness.

Unable to find work in my hometown in Wisconsin, my husband applied on the Internet for a job in Spokane. We sold most everything we had to sell and, not unlike past generations looking for a better life, we headed west. Things did not go as planned, as things seldom do. Through unfortunate circumstances we lost what money we had somewhere along the way. Having nothing to go back to, we sold the few possessions we had left for gas, as we moved forward to this new life, unsure of what the future would hold for us and our three children.

Going over Lookout Pass I was filled with awe, but it was when we drove along Lake Coeur d'Alene that I was taken aback by the beauty of the steam rising from the clear blue water set into the deep green pine of the surrounding hills and valleys. Driving into the downtown area with the quaint shops and small town feel I was overcome with a strange yet familiar sensation of feeling at home. It was a calm comfortableness of memories of my own upbringing in a small town in central Wisconsin, where kids rode their bikes freely around town and stayed outside until dusk without fear. Thinking that we could come back and visit, we continued on into Washington. Anxiety and fear of losing my most precious blessings and greatest responsibilities overwhelmed me as we were turned away for shelter in Spokane with no openings available. We turned our car around and went back to Coeur d'Alene where we were taken in by Family Promise of North Idaho.

I was a stranger to this community three weeks ago. Not one person is responsible for offering an outstretched hand to me or my family, but my family has received much more than that from this community. With our immediate needs of shelter and healthy meals fulfilled, we were wrapped in love and encouragement from FPNI and have been placed upon the road to become stable and independent citizens of this community. We have been invited to participate in many community events and have been made to feel welcome by all, from the teachers and counselors at the children's school, where my children are fitting in and making new friends, to the many hosts of the various churches that we have called home since becoming guests of FPNI. We have been welcomed with undeserved grace, void of judgment at our current circumstance.

With the holidays upon us I felt the need to voice my overwhelming gratitude at being embraced within the graciousness and kindness of the people of this and the surrounding communities. The spirit of generosity in the hearts of others has made a true Christmas with all the trimmings in the eyes of my precious children and I can never express the level of gratitude that is in my heart. We have truly found a place that we can call home for years to come where we can pass that kindness forward when we are able.

God Bless and Merry Christmas.

Jodi Mogavero is now a resident of Coeur d'Alene.