Jean

Hired in 2002 as just the second paid employee of the very young Love INC Allegan County, Jean Eding has served as our LIFE Skills Director for 22 years. Jean enjoys bringing community members together to learn about the resources available for our families. She has worked with numerous people in our community who desire to help others in a way that allows them keep their dignity and gives them a chance to give back. Jean’s seen the growth of our LIFE Skills program from its infancy to three locations (Hamilton, Allegan, and Pullman), and walked with it through COVID when we drew it back to the one location as it’s run now. And while her title has stayed mostly the same over her 22 years here, Jean has worn many hats, walked with hundreds of families, and left a major impact on our community. Here’s what she shares about her time with us so far:

It’s the people we serve that keep me at Love INC. And while I could share hundreds of stories from the past 20+ years, to further explain that, I’ll share just one from the early days.

Before I came on staff, my church hosted the Love INC clothing pantry. One day, a mother of six with short, multi-colored hair came to the church in need of clothes. While I made some initial judgements of her, she began to share her story with me. Until recently, she had been living in Chicago, where they were members of a Country Club, her children in a private school and her family facing no money worries.

One night, the police came, raided their home, and arrested her husband for embezzlement. This woman and her children were kicked out of the home with very little in relationships or material things to show for the life they’d previously lived. The little bit of money she took with her was quickly gone, so she had the humiliation of applying at DHHS for assistance. Then she learned she had cancer. She refused an abortion but, as soon as the baby was born, she started chemo. To help her children feel comfortable with her head, she let them write on her skull when she had no hair and then, when she had tiny amounts, the children would color it with Kool-Aid. 

When I saw her, the baby was 10 months old, and her husband’s case was about to be heard in court. After she feared she would lose her life and leave her six children homeless and orphans, she called out to God and doors began to open. She found a temporary place to live, and her husband’s lawyer was convinced he would be able to have the case dropped due to the evidence he had gathered, but she refused to go back to the kind of “artificial” life they were living before these tragic events. I misjudged her when I saw her hairstyle without knowing her story. It was a beautiful illustration of not judging by what we see on the outside. This mom had the most beautiful heart and gave all the glory to God.