Stephanie* turned away from the sink and held out her hands toward Carter*, her not-quite-one-year-old son. Carter’s face nearly exploded with a smile as he exuberantly teetered the six steps toward his mother.

The other moms of The Elizabeth House, sitting around the dinner table, cheered him on. All burst out with praise as they saw Carter take his first steps.

It was exciting to witness Carter’s first moments walking — and celebrate this milestone. It was even more moving to glimpse one moment that indicates how much the mothers of The Elizabeth House support one another.

This night, they were reveling in a toddler’s beginning to experiment with moving around on two legs. Another night they celebrated with a mom as she came home from a job interview fully employed with a good job. Several days before, they had a going away dinner for a resident who was graduating and moving out on her own. And they’ll have a big celebration when a mom brings her newborn daughter home from the hospital any day now.

The moms of The Elizabeth House cheer each other on in accomplishments big and small. They celebrate birthdays and graduations and much more.

These courageous moms support one another through challenging times as well. As one mom learns to seek out her Heavenly Father, she prays for another mom who is struggling with a difficult relationship with her sister. When one mom has a job interview, another mom may offer to care for her baby.

The moms of The Elizabeth House develop a community. They often become family for one another.

Families eat dinner together and celebrate birthdays, first steps and new jobs. Healthy families help each other out and pray for one another. They rejoice with one another and mourn with one another as Paul commanded in his letter to the Romans.

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” Romans 12:15

We rejoice that the mothers and children of The Elizabeth House are living out this command in their lives with one another. They are experiencing what Christian family life can look like. And they are taking their own first steps to replicate this model in their own lives and families when it is their turn to graduate and move out on their own.

When it is Stephanie’s turn to graduate and move out on her own, she will be ready to begin a healthy family life. She has experienced The Elizabeth House family rejoicing and mourning with one another. And she is ready to take her first steps to establish her new-found family life — making a difference for generations to come.

Thank you for being a part of making these first steps and so much more possible for Carter and for Stephanie.

* Names changed to protect privacy.