Temperance Reddick joined our staff on May 15 as Volunteer Coordinator. Her story of how she came to us is below.
Four years ago, Executive Director Alan and his wife Michelle were out building relationships with families at Lexington Gardens when they met Temperance, a mom of a two-year-old and another little one on the way. While Alan asked if she had any current needs, Temperance denied any, requesting only prayer. Yet she continues, “he continued to ask if I had needs so consistently, it’s as if he knew I had them.” Eventually she admitted that she didn’t have a bed. Alan alerted the community to this need and a community group from Restoration Church responded, knocking on her door with the needed bed in tow. Through this community group’s benevolence, Temperance returned to church and was connected with a local body of believers who loved and served her. She found a job and things were looking better.
Yet in October 2016 she discovered she had cancer and lost her job due to the multiple doctor’s appointments and surgeries that occupied her time. She made the best of the pause in work and enrolled in Work Life. When she graduated from the program, she applied for over 50 jobs and went through 20 interviews, only to be turned down time and time again. During this discouraging time, her Community Group and friends at Project Connect Nashville (PCN) encouraged her to be patient, confident the right job would come up. Temperance recounts that being patient is the hardest thing she’s had to do in her life. The day after being turned down from yet another position, Alan called her into the office to share exciting news with her: someone had donated the funds to cover 50% of her salary, and the night before the board had approved matching that gift; hence, PCN could hire her as their much-needed volunteer coordinator. Today Temperance serves as PCN’s point-woman to connect churches with individuals who, like herself, need friendship and assistance to walk out of difficult circumstances into a brighter future.
