An impact greater than one gift
“Everyone is different, but we are all made in God’s image. Everyone is very important to God. The poor, sick, elderly, unborn, and disabled are a little different than us, but they deserve to be treated with love and kindness.”—Lauren Miriovsky.
Lauren is just 12-years old and yet her words of love and inclusion show wisdom. As the essay continues, she explains her feelings about being kind and life being a blessing to the less fortunate.
“Just because they are poor doesn’t mean that they are any less important than us, or that God loves them any less…they are very happy, trust God, and are just like us.”
Lauren is the granddaughter of Ron and Kathy McBroom of New Prague, MN, who are longtime supporters of The Lutheran Home Association (TLHA). Being generous to charities is something they have passed on to their children and grandchildren.
They worked with our mission advancement team to set up a charitable gift annuity to share with TLHA. Their gift will enable TLHA to share God’s love with seniors and individuals with developmental disabilities. At TLHA, the chaplains share the message of being made in God’s image and how important each one of us is to God—as Lauren knows so well.
Ron, who is 72, sells Medicare supplements mainly to people who are older than 65. Some of his customers have resided at The Lutheran Home in Belle Plaine. He quoted one client as saying, “Well if you like this, you’ll like heaven.” He then added, “You can’t get a bigger compliment than that.” He continued, “If you can live in one [senior living community] with a religious affiliation, a Christian community with Christian influence and support, I think that’s a good thing.”
Ron and Kathy’s generosity is greater than their one-time gift as it will affect future generations and make a difference in the lives of TLHA residents. Their decision to live at one of TLHA’s care communities later in life tells another story of their Christian faith and trust in TLHA’s ministry. To read Lauren’s full essay “Respect for Life,” click here.