Linda Wright, center, poses with the Cru Inner City Los Angeles team. Clockwise from front left, Londa Bradshaw, David Urquhart, Paola Resendiz and Jefte Villalta.
Linda Wright was next in line at the grocery checkout stand when she noticed a heated conversation between the customer at the register and the cashier. Wright gently gestured to the clerk to tone it down. Soon, the customer stormed out of the store, and Wright was face-to-face with the fuming cashier.
"You don't understand," the cashier told Wright, explaining she recently lost everything in a house fire. Amid the grief, she was also overwhelmed by all of the paperwork, details and decisions she faced in the inferno's aftermath.
"I still come to work every day and have to listen to this," she protested to Wright.
Wright absorbed every syllable as the clerk's story brought back the sight and smell of singed things and emotions.
"Oh, but I do understand," Wright told the grocery worker.
"I'm trying to get my life back together. If God did it for me, he'll do it for you."
Months earlier, Wright was in a physical therapy session when her landlord called. Her Los Angeles-area apartment was on fire. When she rushed home, her unit was mostly destroyed and three others were damaged. She salvaged a few belongings and her dog, Nico, whom firefighters found hiding under smoking debris. Like many in high-cost-of-living neighborhoods, Wright couldn't afford renter's insurance.
"In my brokenness, I'm having a conversation with the cashier," Wright said.
As the two shared a bit about their common experience, the cashier's anger diffused.
"I'm trying to get my life back together," Wright told her. "If God did it for me, he'll do it for you."
Wright's life was already in an upheaval at the time of the December 15 fire in the LA suburb of Inglewood. Three weeks earlier, a hit-and-run driver totaled her car, leaving Wright, 67, with whiplash, an injured knee and deep bruising from the seatbelt and deployed airbag. Literally adding insult to injury — in the chaos of the crash — someone stole $100 out of her purse.
The crash was a brutal interruption to what had been a beautiful day. Hours before the hit-and-run, Wright attended a Box of Love® distribution through Cru® Inner City. As the representative for her church, she accepted 15 of them to give to struggling families in her neighborhood. Each box had a turkey and all of the fixings for a Thanksgiving meal for six. In addition to the groceries, each box contained gospel literature for adults and children, plus a Bible. Already trained in Cru's effective evangelism techniques, after packing the Boxes of Love®, Wright headed home to store them until handing them out later that week.
Wright stacked the Boxes of Love in her apartment before heading back out for errands, unaware she was about to become one of those struggling to make it.
Wright always had a passion for helping others, so she eagerly accepted an invitation by church leadership to participate in an orientation meeting with Cru® Inner City. At the meeting, just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered the nation, Wright was introduced to the mission of Inner City, which is to live out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission with churches in the inner city. In practical terms, Inner City teams in 40-plus cities empower and equip urban churches to reach hurting neighbors in the name of Jesus.
"The atmosphere was so beautiful, the presentation, the love of God and the people and the resources," Wright said. "I just felt that I was in the right place, with like-minded individuals. There was so much passion and clarity and insight on how to evangelize in this day."
Since that orientation meeting, Wright has continually volunteered for Inner City projects, from packing parties to distribution of not only the Boxes of Love but also Homeless Care Kits and PowerPacks@, which are colorful backpacks loaded up with school supplies. During an August PowerPacks event David Urquhart, a longtime staff member with the Los Angeles team, heard Wright's story.
"She was tearing up and holding my hand as she was sharing this with me," Urquhart said. "I couldn't help but think that here she is, suffering incredible loss, but still showing up to the PowerPacks packing party where she will be receiving filled backpacks to serve children in a low-income neighborhood so they will be prepared for the start of school."
Losing her car in the crash proved to be a major inconvenience. Already active with volunteering and other activities, Wright now faced additional doctor appointments and physical therapy. Members of her family, including a grandson, who was available during breaks from college, shuttled her to and from her various appointments. The independent senior who loved serving others faced a new reality: seeking help for herself. Just as she was beginning to heal from the crash injuries her apartment fire was an even greater setback.
After the blaze, Wright moved in with a family member. Within a week or so she was finally able to replace her car, which helped ease the burden of getting to and from physical therapy and running errands in preparation for starting over with housing.
"God worked all of that out.," she said.
"Her story is deeply touching and moving for me."
Despite the added obstacle, Wright continued her volunteer work.
"Her story is deeply touching and moving for me," Urquhart said. "Working alongside ministry partners like Linda is so humbling and motivating for us."
Beyond volunteering, Wright has also become an ardent advocate of Cru Inner City, promoting its work to other churches, resulting in three new partners for the ministry. She has also introduced Inner City to other churches, bringing other ministries aboard to help with the Compassionate Product™ outreaches.
"Our church partners will meet felt needs and at the same time show great compassion and connection to the families who receive them," Urquhart said.
Earlier this year, Wright was able to move into a new apartment and began the long process of replacing her material possessions. The most difficult aspects of building it all back were the intangibles — dealing with insensitive comments, corralling the energy needed to rebuild at this stage of her life and mourning the loss of important mementos. There were points when she admitted she felt like hiding.
"I've learned so many different things on the other end of being homeless or traumatized," she said. Among the lessons she shared:
Amid the challenge, Wright said she realized "God was saying, ‘I see your value.' I still struggle, but it's worth it. I know God is up to something, and it's in those things I'm grateful."
In the middle of those insights, Wright found herself doing what her heart has led her to do most of her life: share them with others.
Her serendipitous encounter with the grocery clerk didn't end at the check-out line. Wright took the woman under her wing, reaching out to contacts to help the cashier.
"Miss Linda, I got my place … my place is beautiful," the clerk shouted to Wright during one of her visits to the store, leading Wright to an important observation:
"There are resources, but it's a process," she said. "I was in the right place."
"I've learned so many different things on the other end of being homeless or traumatized."
Investing a little bit of time and organizational skills, Wright said, paid big dividends as she shared God's provision as she assisted the cashier.
Wright's lifestyle, Urquhart said, is at the heart of the Inner City-partner ministry relationship.
"Even though Linda was still in transition for her own housing, she helped this cashier find a new place to live and got her settled into her new home on July 4th," he said. "What an incredible demonstration of God's love Linda showed to someone she just met!"
Wright confided: "I love doing what I do, making a difference in someone's life."
Lori Arnold serves as the senior writer for Cru's inner-city ministry.
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