As
most know, I am a consistent supporter of community service. However, I
had my first experience this past weekend feeding the homeless and extremely
low-income families. I was happily overwhelmed with the amount of support
that arrived on this freezing cold afternoon. Food was prepped and set,
tables were out, and volunteers were ready all bundled up with their coats,
scarves, hats, and gloves. By my surprise I thought we were serving indoors,
so my attire was not suitable for the 25-degree weather that was upon us.
Though, I kept complaining about how it was freezing, I realized that it was
inappropriate. The people who I was about to encounter didn’t have homes
and if they did, they probably didn’t have heat. I made those thoughts
disappear and was ready to serve people with an abundance of love.
As
the gate opened and people began taking their seats, I was speechless. I
was clueless of what to do or tell them or even talk about, so I just
began by asking if they wanted hot chocolate or coffee.
As I
continued to serve with the utmost respect, it ran through my mind to spark up
a conversation. In anyone’s mind, this should have been the easiest thing
to do, but not for me. All I had to do was speak, but nothing.
Nevertheless, it was the most difficult gesture that day. It was not
that easy like talking to a friend about the most recent episode
of Once Upon A Time or if they seen how ridiculous the size of the iPhone 6
plus has become. I was too ashamed to complain about how much I was
freezing and that I couldn’t feel my toes anymore. They live through this
every day. What could I possibly talk about? It persevered to
invade my mind.
…couldn't mention about the new style of clothes that has been out. How about the fact that my closet is filled of clothes that I have used once and don’t want to wear it again? Just the thought, makes me feel selfish. They wear most of their clothes repeatedly everyday. I can’t mention about the new LCD TV’s.
It isn’t that simple when a person is standing right in
front of you who has nothing. It is the moment you realize how much you
have even if you thought you didn’t have it all, but YOU DO! Yet, we
complain about the smallest things. I ONLY have a 50-inch TV… I
ONLY have two laptops... I NEED a second car… I WANT the new
Ugg’s… My paycheck isn’t big enough…
blahh blahh blahhhh
They are saying … I couldn’t
afford to pay my heat this month... Hopefully, I can get the
rent... Maybe I will find somewhere warm to sleep tonight… I want to find
shoes with no holes… and so on…
Anyway, the first words that came to my mind
that was reasonable was “Are you enjoying your meal?” & “Is there anything
else that I can get you?” From that lead a conversation about cats.
Ahhh!! That I can talk about! One man loved cats and at one point of
his life he had twenty-five of them. From there I was able to ask if he
like dogs. The look on his face made me giggle. He said, “Noooo, I
am scared of dogs.” The lady next to him said he was bitten before and
then the man next to her started talking about champion dogs. Yes!!!! I
succeeded in a conversation that didn’t demean them in any way. It made
me feel wonderful!
As time passed and all of us served as
waitresses or waiters, servers, helpers, all volunteers, I took a step back and
looked around and watched every single person eating. I stood there in
astonishment. Most of these people already knew one another and they
were talking, joking, and laughing. It left me flabbergasted. I
kept thinking to myself that these people must go through so much and yet here
they are enjoying themselves outside in this horrific weather with little
sprinkles of showers falling down.
After almost four hours of
serving, I was forever grateful of what the Lord has brought upon my life.
Experiences like these make me more humble than I can ever
imagine.
I would never get tired of serving the community!
It is apart of who I am!
