We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.
—Sir Winston Churchill

“Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies…
She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy”
—Proverbs 31:10, 20 KJV, ESV

From an early age, Lindsey had the great blessing of seeing the example of a godly mother and grandmother. I’m certain this story will bless and encourage all of you grandmothers, mothers, and daughters out there—for those who live what the Scriptures teach will see the impact of their lives on their children and their children’s children!

“I’ve never considered myself a particularly ‘artsy’ or ‘creative’ person, but from the moment I picked up my knitting needles at the age of 13, I haven’t been able to put them back down. At first I stuck with the basic knit stitch, but gradually I added in multiple yarns, tassels, and more complicated stitches. Knitting quickly became a fun and productive activity while watching TV or going on road trips.

“In 2006, my grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer and went through chemo-therapy. At this point, I had the hang of making scarves, but hadn’t yet ventured out into more complicated projects. Knowing my grandma was about to lose her hair and spend countless hours in the hospital was just the inspiration I needed to knit my first cap. I worked for weeks on this cap; it ended up slightly lopsided and with a few other small mistakes, but I was proud of it nonetheless. Once I finished my gift, my family went up to L.A. to visit my grandparents, and we all went out to a nice restaurant. My grandma had already lost her hair and was wearing a purchased cap, but when I gave her the cap I made for her, she took hers off without a care about who in the restaurant saw her bald head and proudly put it on and wore it for the remainder of the night. Now, my grandma was blind, so she didn’t actually see the mistakes I had made in the cap, but she loved each of her grandchildren so much that even with sight she would’ve seen it as a flawless gift. After seeing how appreciated a hand-made gift could be to someone in a time of need, I felt called to use my gift of knitting to help more people in need.

“I continued knitting with a newfound passion, and began accumulating a large inventory of scarves and beanies. In the winter of 2008, I went to Skid Row to distribute scarves and beanies to downtown Los Angeles’ people in need. God was at work that day because I happened to go on the day a local church was giving out Christmas gifts to homeless and impoverished people, and they drew a large crowd. We drove around, passing out these scarves and beanies to the people in need. I was so excited to see the joy that my knitted creations brought these people. I wanted to get more people involved with my mission, so I created Knit with Love. The charity is based on Matthew 25:40, which was the verse my grandma lived her life by and states, ‘The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”‘

“Today, Knit with Love has donated over 1,200 items to homeless, impoverished, and sick people all over the world. I am constantly blown away by the power of God, as people continue donating knitted items to the charity, and I get to see the impact our donations make on the lives of people in need of love and compassion.”

Lindsey’s dad, Ron, has a ministry that collects and distributes new and gently used sports equipment to needy children all over the world.  Her mom, Clair, is a wonderful cook and heads up Harvest Orange County’s food ministry which delivers delicious homemade meals to the sick in our church.