What are Tuesday People? They are the people that everyone needs.
How we got our Tuesday People
It all started the week we took in a 17-month old girl and her newborn baby sister. They needed immediate placement and we already had their 2-year-old sibling in our home. So we were the first call. Could we take them? Yes. God said yes. So Matt and I said yes.
The two baby girls were welcomed into our home by our four older sons plus our young adopted and/or foster kids – at the time ages 7, 5, 2, 2, and 9-months. It wasn’t the first time we questioned our sanity, as we cared for so many high-need kids so close in age.
But were we even crazier for taking in two more? The kids would be ages 7, 5, 2, 2, 17-months, 9-months, and 2-days. Did I mention that our oldest, Asa, was getting married six weeks from that day?
Yes. We were crazy.
But have you ever read the Bible? Does God do anything significant for the Kingdom that isn’t weird, extreme, different, shocking, or challenging? Ask Sarah, Joseph, Paul, Esther, Noah, or Mary. It seems that God’s “yes” is always with great purpose, but it is also accompanied by that which seems impossible. We read the Word with confidence, noting that He always came through for the people that He called. He would come through for us.
Our community rallied
Surely our people were also questioning our sanity. But they walked with us anyway. It was only a few days before we had half a room stocked with cases of wipes and diaper boxes of all sizes, a Meal Train filled with meals ready to be delivered, and the best of the best: a Google spreadsheet brimming with people who had signed up to come in the evenings to help us with dinner, baths, and bedtime. Five kids in diapers? A baby with leg braces? Toddlers who struggled to stay out of the street? A freshly traumatized 1-year-old? Sleepless nights for Mom and Dad? The list goes on. We were in need.
God provided. He is good. His people are good.
Our Tuesday People
As we settled in with our new babies, the beloved spreadsheet told us that the Conyers would be coming that Tuesday evening to help. They arrived with a meal for all of us to enjoy. Then they chased kids in the yard, pushed kids on the swings, changed diapers, and read books. They scrubbed dirt off of kids, fed babies bottles, and washed our dishes. We got the kids to bed and thanked them as they headed out the door, surely exhausted from all they’d done for our family during those hours. That’s when they said:
“Can we come again next Tuesday?”
Oh, yes please. If you’re sure that works for you??
The next Tuesday turned into the Tuesday after that. Which turned into the one after that. And then the one after that. We settled into a routine with Aaron and Eryn. They became our Tuesday People. They came right after work on Tuesdays. I always had dinner waiting to feed them when they arrived – because it was the least I could do.
Sometimes they ate with a baby in their arms. Often they ate with a toddler in their lap. Then they didn’t stop moving until after the jammies were on, the nightly family “singing and prayer time” was complete, and the kids were in bed. Often Matt and I would come down the stairs after tucking kids in to see that Aaron and Eryn had the toys picked up and the dishwasher loaded.
During the spring, they’d meet us at the soccer field to help us chase kids while we cheered for Malachi. We sometimes joke that two years ago, we weren’t sure who was the most hesitant in this relationship: the baby girls who weren’t sure what to do with Aaron and his beard, or Aaron, who wasn’t sure what to do with seemingly fragile baby girls. Now, they are all the best of friends.
This Tuesday night thing all started back in June 2021. And here we are two years later, in June 2023.
The Conyers have become so dear to us. They are our Tuesday People. They’ve seen the worst of us, shared their best with us, and prayed us through incredible challenges. We’ve fed them, loved them, and made them a part of our family. They made us a part of theirs.
Saying goodbye to our Tuesday Nights now as we are moving on to Lincoln grieves me more than just about anything we are leaving behind. Oh how we’ve loved and needed our Tuesday People.
Everyone needs Tuesday People.
Church, worship, family, and community can take on many forms and for us, Tuesdays have become a beautiful blending of all of this. We need this. Everyone needs this.
So some questions for you:
- Do you have Tuesday People?
- Can you become someone’s Tuesday People?
We all need community. Sometimes we are called to serve and sometimes we are called to be served. As I have learned during our life journey – the need to serve and to be served almost always happens simultaneously. It is beautiful this way.
When we allow ourselves to be served, we are opening ourselves up to experiencing God in a way that we cannot if we choose to “go it alone.” We suffer when we say no to help, because God didn’t make us to do life without His people. We can do so much more for the Kingdom when we work together, serve together, and open our homes and hearts to be served and cared for.
Say yes to this
Prayerfully open your heart to how God can use you in this. Serve and be served. Love and be loved.
Our Tuesday People have changed our lives and we’ll never be the same. It is almost two years to the day from our first Tuesday together that we tearfully enjoy our last.
Thank you, Aaron and Eryn for loving us so well. Our Tuesdays will not be the same without you. We love you.
Sonia says
That is so beautiful! I’m thankful that you shared that with us. What a blessing to have these people carry some of the load, I love it!!!
Kristen says
Beautiful, simply beautiful.
Charlotte Moore says
How very touching! That is some very special people you were BLESSED to know. Thanks for sharing this. GOD BLESS all of you.
Cami says
Such a loving way to serve God and you all! I was so thankful you shared this.
Melissa says
I cried reading this. Such a loving and giving couple. God is good.
Frances says
I’m challenged!
I know someone who could use this type of help. She’s a mother of four under 5 years old.
I plan to move something from my schedule and ask her if I could be her Tuesday person.
Only difference it may be a different day
Deb Cleveland says
How blessed you are indeed. Thank you for sharing and allowing me a look into the faces (via photos) of such servants. I knew they were special, but I didn’t know how special until I read this. Best of God’s blessings to you and yours as you start this new adventure.
Rosanne says
How beautiful the servants that bring such joy and love to you!!
Cathie says
We often need to be reminded how important it is to be served. Thank you. You surely have blessed this couple by allowing them to serve you.
Allison says
I cried through the whole post… then my husband walked past the door, asked why I was crying, and I cried again as I shared it with him. What a blessing… and honestly, it has me asking what I can do to meet the needs of those around me. Praying that God will open my eyes and equip me. Thank you for sharing.
Lissa says
This was a beautiful post. And what grief your Tuesday people will feel without you. I’m still fretting about you losing your chicken picking friend,
Rita says
This is so beautiful – my 50 year old daughter fosters and I have a glimpse of how special your Tuesday people are. Her friends took classes to help her drive her foster loves around. AND – this encourage me as my husband and I have wrapped our arms around an Afghan refugee family and we are there all week people. Thanks for taking time to write your story and please be assured it blesses others.
Anne says
I cried as I read this blog because my family and I were Tuesday people for almost 10 years. It started as a way for my 14 year-old daughter to work with horses, then a chance for my 17 yr old son to apprentice around the farm. Over the years, this dear couple mentored my teens in many ways while we helped with the barn chores, shoveled snow from their driveway, and rounded up donkeys at midnight. We were by their side when her Mom died, when the older horses had to be put down, through recovery of his open heart surgery, her knee replacement and concussion. Two years ago, we helped them pack up and move back to West Virginia to be closer to their grandkids. Every now and them, I get a call on a Tuesday night. So bittersweet.
Now I am a Friday person as I help care for my aging parents who live an hour away. . .