The Heartbeat
Widowhood can be an extremely difficult and lonely road to travel. Widows Link was created to empower widows to continue their lives with purpose and connect them with others who are traveling this road as well. Our mission to connect and empower widows, which is very important to God. This mission didn’t come from us, it came from God’s Word in James.
“ Pure and genuine religion before God the Father is that we care for the widows and orphans”
Our goal is to partner with churches and organizations to help connect widows together and walk with them as they pick up pieces of their lives and put together a new life that God has laid down before them. From our cruises to our annual retreats, we work to give widows opportunities to break away, take a deep breath, and meet others who are walking the same road of widowhood. We work with churches to create small groups in their communities or to host banquets to love on the widows, which can be a void that never really gets filled in their lives.
“...the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
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Marlene Craft knows all too well the road of widowhood. In January 2011, she lost her husband of 32 years in her arms suddenly. She was left alone, searching for her purpose after being a pastor’s wife for practically her entire marriage. What now?
Shortly after the funeral, God began laying this ministry on her heart. It began with a small group at a local church that met together on a monthly basis. From that small group of widows meeting together in Alabaster, Alabama, Widows Link’s footprint now spans across the country. Marlene became the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal denomination, first fully appointed missionary to widows.
Now Marlene travels around the country speaking, teaching churches and organizations how to effectively help the widows of their communities. Marlene also spends much of her time meeting with widows who need help in their day to day lives. She leads the Widows Link team as we expand this ministry across the country.
In 2015, Widows Link helped coordinated the first ever, Widows Link Cruise. This was the first of what became an annual event to help widows disconnect from their lives and connect with other widows who are walking very similar roads together. This event is one of the highlights of the year. It is incredible to watch these widows being treated like the royalty they are. We hear stories each year how this event touches the hearts of the widows that travel with us.
2019 was a monumental year for Widows Link. Over the course one year, we had three ladies join the Widows Link staff as Missionary Associates through the Assemblies of God. As we expand, we are able to reach more women in different avenues of widowhood such as younger women who have small children at home and women who were pastor’s wives.
We have also begun publishing a new tool we hope widows can use to walk this journey. We simply call it, “Dear Widow.” These videos will continue to be published to help widows walk out different events, holidays, or specific struggles they will encounter. In each video, Marlene shares her learned wisdom how to walk through different aspects of widowhood, practically and in a real way. We are also in process of recording widows sharing their own stories of how God has helped them walk out their journey of widowhood.
Great things lay ahead for this ministry and we welcome any who desires to walk and in action the call God placed in His Word in James 1:27.
Thank you for your prayers and financial support so together we can obey God’s command to “care for the widows”.
