March 2023
God had plans for Lauren Burke. Four years ago, she and husband Brendan were living in Charlotte, North Carolina with their three children when they felt called to seek a more meaningful life in a new place. Today, their growing family is happily settled in West Des Moines, where Lauren is mom to five kids, works part-time, and runs Mary’s Helping Hands, the thriving non-profit she founded in 2021. But how did she get from her hamster-wheel existence in Charlotte to the fulfilling life she has today?
“Coming to Iowa was a year-long prayer journey,” Lauren says. She and Brendan relied on prayer to discern God’s will, with Lauren turning constantly to her anchor, the Rosary. When people questioned the couple for selling their house in Charlotte before Brendan had a job offer in Des Moines, they had to admit it seemed crazy. But in time the offer came, as did other graces that convinced them they were doing the right thing. “We trusted and we knew that God would provide,” says Lauren. And God rewarded their trust by leading them exactly where they needed to be.
Turns out, that was just the beginning.
After baby Clare was born in December 2020, Lauren looked for places where she could donate gently used baby clothes. To her surprise, nobody would take them. Frustrated, she knew there had to be a way to get these items to the people who needed them. She couldn’t stop thinking about it—especially when she prayed the Rosary. Bead after bead, her mind would go right back to the same problem. Was Mary trying to tell her something?
One morning during the pandemic, Lauren “attended” the funeral of a special aunt, watching on an iPad in the bedroom while nursing her baby. In her grief, she couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow her aunt was there, urging her to listen. But listen to what? With Rosary in hand, she looked outside and saw a bird hopping around in a frenzy, as if trying to get her attention. When the bird flung itself into the window with a loud thump, she had to take notice.
“Is Mary trying to tell me to solve this problem? Maybe this is what I’m being called to do.”
Thus began the whirlwind of list-making, brainstorming, phone calls, clothing drives, and all-out miracles that led to the creation of Mary’s Helping Hands. Like moving a family from Charlotte to Des Moines, it seemed crazy at first, but since 2021, the organization has brought thousands of “unwanted” items to over 2,400 moms in need, with no end in sight and new miracles happening every day.
Lauren Burke never expected to find herself running a non-profit, and she’d certainly never dreamed of starting one. But amazing things happen when God has a plan.