“Did You Ever Imagine It Would Grow Like This?”

There is a question Karen Mesler is asked often.

Did you ever imagine Alleluia Baskets would reach as many people as it has?

It is a fair question. From the outside, growth can look like momentum, success, or even inevitability. But Karen’s answer is never framed around numbers or expansion. Instead, it is rooted in something quieter and more honest.

She always hoped it would grow.

She never assumed it would.

And she remains deeply amazed by how faithful God has been every step of the way.

To understand that answer, you have to return to the beginning, back to a time when Alleluia Baskets lived not in a rented office space or dedicated facility, but inside a home.

(Basket filling station set up in the Mesler’s living room-Easter Season 2011)

As shared on the Our Story page, Alleluia Baskets did not begin as a large scale initiative or a strategic plan for growth. It began with a simple awareness that Easter, a season meant to proclaim resurrection, dignity, and joy, can be painfully difficult for families who lack the resources to celebrate it. While much attention is often given to Christmas outreach, Easter can quietly pass by, even though it stands at the very heart of the Christian faith.

In those early years, the mission quite literally filled Karen’s home. Baskets lined the living room. Supplies covered the dining table. During the Easter season, the ordinary rhythms of family life adjusted to make space for something larger than themselves.

(Baskets ready for recipients! - Easter Season 2011)

Karen’s son, Steve, remembers those seasons clearly. He recalls carefully moving through rooms filled with baskets and supplies, learning early on that this mission was something the whole family carried together. What might have felt inconvenient instead became part of the story, a home temporarily transformed into a place of service.

Karen did not set out to build something impressive. She set out to respond faithfully.

What emerged was a mission rooted in dignity. Thoughtfully prepared Easter baskets that honor families not as recipients of charity, but as neighbors worthy of celebration. From the beginning, Alleluia Baskets was never about excess or spectacle. It was about care. It was about restoring joy in a season that proclaims life.

(Founder, Karen Mesler, with Basket Recipients -Easter Season 2012)

Still, hope lived alongside humility. Karen hoped the mission would grow, not for recognition, but because growth would mean more families experiencing Easter joy. At the same time, she understood that sustaining such a mission would require commitment, prayer, and a shared sense of responsibility.

That is where the amazement comes in.

Because year after year, people have continued to say yes.

What began in a single home eventually expanded into a rented office space, separate from Karen’s home, and later into a permanent home of its own at 401 E. Wabash Street. Each step reflected not ambition, but careful discernment and provision. The mission grew because the need remained and because people continued to believe in the work being done.

(More baskets ready for delivery at the Mesler residence! - Easter Season 2011)

Core volunteers remained deeply committed, returning season after season with consistency and care. Board members offered leadership, discernment, and stewardship, helping guide Alleluia Baskets with integrity. Community volunteers joined in, strengthening the mission through their skills, presence, and shared purpose.

Donors and sponsors also played an essential role. Their generosity made it possible for Alleluia Baskets to grow responsibly without losing sight of the care, reverence, and intentionality that defined its earliest days.

None of this was guaranteed.

When Karen reflects on how Alleluia Baskets has grown, she does not speak in terms of scale alone. She speaks of faithfulness, God’s first and foremost, and then the faithfulness of the people who have carried the mission alongside her.

“Now to Him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine.”

-Ephesians 3:20

This verse often comes to mind, not because the mission set out to exceed expectations, but because it unfolded in ways that could not have been planned. From baskets filling a family living room, to a rented office space, to a permanent home at 401 E. Wabash St., the path forward revealed itself step by step.

(Volunteers at Alleluia Baskets permanent home!)

Growth, in this sense, was never about reaching milestones. It was about trust deepening over time. Trust in the mission. Trust in the people involved. Trust that dignity centered outreach had a place and a purpose. Trust that Easter joy was worth preparing for with care and intention.

Karen often shares that she is most moved not by how far the mission has reached, but by how it has been sustained. By the same hands returning season after season. By the attention given to the smallest details. By the quiet generosity that seeks no recognition.

Alleluia Baskets has always been a collective effort. While Karen helped steward the original vision, the mission itself belongs to a community. It belongs to those who assemble baskets with prayer and intention. To those who guide the organization thoughtfully behind the scenes. To those who give financially, trusting that their support will be used with reverence and care.

It also belongs to the families who receive the baskets, families who remind everyone involved why this work matters.

(Joyful basket recipients! - Easter Season 2012)

Easter baskets may appear simple at first glance, but simplicity does not mean insignificance. A thoughtfully prepared basket communicates something powerful. You were considered. You matter. This season matters.

That message has resonated far beyond what Karen initially imagined, not because it was loud, but because it was sincere.

Looking back, she can see how each season built upon the last. How early efforts were met with encouragement. How moments of uncertainty were answered with provision. How God continued to place the right people in the mission’s path at the right time.

There were no shortcuts. No instant success. Only steady, faithful work.

And that is what continues to amaze her.

The impact of Alleluia Baskets cannot be measured only by how many baskets are distributed. Its deeper legacy lives in the relationships formed, the trust earned, and the shared commitment to honoring dignity and joy at Easter.

As Alleluia Baskets looks toward future seasons, Karen holds both hope and gratitude. She hopes the mission continues to reach families who need to be reminded of their worth. She hopes others feel called to take part. And she remains deeply thankful, aware that every step forward has been shaped by God’s goodness and the faithfulness of many.

When asked if she ever imagined it would grow like this, her answer remains the same.

She hoped.

She trusted.

And she is still amazed.