Cooking Eggs at Ruth’s House
(yes, we still have some eggs)

I am writing today to describe just one of the everyday activities conducted at Ruth’s House because I wish to convey to everyone how seemingly small things, small kindnesses, thoughtful remembrances, and what many would call “small” activities can make a difference in the lives of others. Sometimes in life, it is the small things that we remember and these are the things make the greatest impact on our lives. Here is one of those small but impactful moments relayed by one of our Ruth’s House staff.

“Recently, the residents at Ruth’s House requested that we do a basic cooking class every other Saturday. The residents picked the food that they want to learn to cook while a staff member teaches them how. A few weeks ago, we taught a resident how to make scrambled eggs. When the resident came to Ruth’s House, she would overcook and burn the eggs every time she made them. Now she is continuously
cooking perfect scrambled eggs, and every time she does, she gets excited and tells the staff, “Look, I cooked these eggs by myself!” It was that moment when I saw how excited she was over something as simple as an egg that I knew the seemingly small things we do for the women we serve have a larger impact on them than we realize.

Sometimes women come here with no basic everyday life skills and develop and learn these skills while at Ruth’s House. The excitement and joy they get from learning how to cook something as simple as an egg just proves that what we do for our residents is more meaningful and important to these women than we know.”

When I first heard this story, I thought it was about cooking eggs but it is not about that at all. This story is about kindness and helpfulness and how something that seems simple, like scrambling eggs, illustrates how important it is to others when we care enough about them to help. If you are interested in helping to make an impact (big or small) on the lives of others, contact us at hello@ruthshousemn.org to volunteer so that you can make a difference in the lives of those in crisis.

Susan Stout
Ruth’s House/Sarah’s House Outreach Coordinator