Over the weekend, the community celebrated the opening of Crossroads for Her Ministry, an effort supported by many local churches and individuals to help women at the lowest point in their lives get back on their feet.

A wide variety of the community visited during Sunday’s open house including volunteers who’ve given their time and donors who’ve given their money to support the new ministry.

The facility they found was new. Sod on the yard had been in place less than two weeks. New appliances, new furniture. All of it donated or bought with donated money.

In an interview March 8, co-chairs Darlene Cox and Linda Berl overflowed with gratitude for what the community has done to help the steering committee get the doors open.

“That’s who our community is,” Cox said. “That’s who God is.”

But Cox was also clear: The mission is only starting, and the ministry will need the community’s ongoing support to meet its operating budget. She’s confident God will make it happen because he’s already made arrangements for so many of the ministry’s other needs.

Among the many examples she offered, one story stuck out:

A woman happened to be visiting Heritage Church on the day Cox was telling the congregation about Crossroads for Her. Cox deescribed the needs the ministry had at the time, including furniture. The woman approached the pastor afterwards. She worked for Woodhaven, the furniture maker in Coolidge, and she had authority to arrange donations to charities. After the pastor connected her and Cox, Cox visited the company. By the time she left, she had the house’s living room furnished.

None of that would have happened had that specific woman not been visiting that specific church on that specific Sunday. Cox sees the hand of God through myriad such incidents that have led to Crossroads for Her’s opening.

The first clients are expected to move in before the end of the month, Cox said. That’s when the real work will start.

The community will need to continue its support — money, time and other resources — as the ministry works to change women’s lives for the better.