Reason #774
It's almost been a year that we started serving at the soup kitchen once a month. We decided not to really look at it as an "option" because God calls us to serve and this is one of the ways we decided to serve. After all, the free hours we have each week are usually spent selfishly, and so once a month is the least we can do. But I'll be honest, tonight I had little desire to be there.
Here's a fact. If you want to really challenge yourself to grow, lead a group. When you're the leader, you realize that there's little room for excuse. You've set the standard by always showing up, and that's expected of you. And truth be told, that's one of the many reasons I am grateful God has given us the opportunity to lead our Sunday school class. It's incredible accountability, which really kicks in on nights like tonight. So excuse me as I show you yet another unpleasant side of myself. I'm definitely human.
I won't pretend that serving is always the most thrilling and glamorous thing one can do. Sometimes, I build things up in my mind, imaging that they'll go completely different. I imagine that as I am handing people food, they'll smile and say thank you. I imagine that gratitude will be shown as well as courtesy. I picture everyone in a happy and gracious state, eager to receive the Lord's love, open to conversation, and inquisitive as to why we're there serving. We relate to one another, even though we're completely different, and many lives are totally transformed during that one hour we're dishing out pizza on styrofoam plates. The truth is, it doesn't look that way. Really, it doesn't look anything near what I sometimes imagine.
I can't relate to the people we're serving at all. They can't relate to me at all. It's no one's fault, we're just living completely different lives. We've had experiences the other one hasn't, and our mindsets aren't the same. I don't know what they are going through, and I don't try to pretend that I do. I don't understand their perspectives and attitudes. I, for the life of me, can't figure out how so much food can get on the floor in so little time or how so many demands can be made for more free servings before we even have enough time to get everyone their round of food. I hardly witness a form of gratitude, and no one bothers to ask why we are there. They know where we're from, but I am not sure the majority care. And after an hour of the fastest food serving you've ever seen, the room empties out. Plates, cups, and all sorts of crinkled up trash litter the tables. We could spend hours sweeping up crumbs and chunks of food that have been trampled on and are smeared across the tile. And as my hands, sticky in plastic gloves, clean up the aftermath of dinner, I wonder if anyone's life was changed.
I'm sure you're thinking with an attitude like that, I should just stay home. Honestly, I don't always feel this way. But there are days when I am tired. Days where I want someone to pour into my life, and the idea of pouring myself out even more isn't my first inclination. There are moments when I just want to sit back and let someone else do the work because I feel like I've done enough, but the truth is, when it comes to serving, we can never serve enough.
And so nights like tonight, I realize I'm suffering from a "baditude." Because nights like tonight, the Lord lets me live out scripture. He lets me be His hands and feet. He allows me to share in the miracle of His provision. Because, although God is a provider, that pizza isn't going to hop on a plate and walk itself to the table. And sure, God can do crazy, amazing things like make pizza magically appear and walk itself to a table, but He chooses to use His children to help feed those who hunger. He chooses to let us live out the promise that He will care for all of us just as He cares for the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. He gives us the opportunity to live out "when I was hungry, you fed me," and I just have to believe that even though I may not witness it, God uses these nights to change peoples lives in one way or another.
But it's not about me, I know. And I don't serve so that someone will tell me thank you. It's about living out God's commands faithfully, and it's about doing what He has placed us here to do. And I trust that, although I may not see it, God will use it for a greater purpose, as He always does.
#774 - Because God uses our small efforts for a greater purpose whether or not we see it.
"Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms." - 1 Peter 4:9-10
Here's a fact. If you want to really challenge yourself to grow, lead a group. When you're the leader, you realize that there's little room for excuse. You've set the standard by always showing up, and that's expected of you. And truth be told, that's one of the many reasons I am grateful God has given us the opportunity to lead our Sunday school class. It's incredible accountability, which really kicks in on nights like tonight. So excuse me as I show you yet another unpleasant side of myself. I'm definitely human.
I won't pretend that serving is always the most thrilling and glamorous thing one can do. Sometimes, I build things up in my mind, imaging that they'll go completely different. I imagine that as I am handing people food, they'll smile and say thank you. I imagine that gratitude will be shown as well as courtesy. I picture everyone in a happy and gracious state, eager to receive the Lord's love, open to conversation, and inquisitive as to why we're there serving. We relate to one another, even though we're completely different, and many lives are totally transformed during that one hour we're dishing out pizza on styrofoam plates. The truth is, it doesn't look that way. Really, it doesn't look anything near what I sometimes imagine.
I can't relate to the people we're serving at all. They can't relate to me at all. It's no one's fault, we're just living completely different lives. We've had experiences the other one hasn't, and our mindsets aren't the same. I don't know what they are going through, and I don't try to pretend that I do. I don't understand their perspectives and attitudes. I, for the life of me, can't figure out how so much food can get on the floor in so little time or how so many demands can be made for more free servings before we even have enough time to get everyone their round of food. I hardly witness a form of gratitude, and no one bothers to ask why we are there. They know where we're from, but I am not sure the majority care. And after an hour of the fastest food serving you've ever seen, the room empties out. Plates, cups, and all sorts of crinkled up trash litter the tables. We could spend hours sweeping up crumbs and chunks of food that have been trampled on and are smeared across the tile. And as my hands, sticky in plastic gloves, clean up the aftermath of dinner, I wonder if anyone's life was changed.
I'm sure you're thinking with an attitude like that, I should just stay home. Honestly, I don't always feel this way. But there are days when I am tired. Days where I want someone to pour into my life, and the idea of pouring myself out even more isn't my first inclination. There are moments when I just want to sit back and let someone else do the work because I feel like I've done enough, but the truth is, when it comes to serving, we can never serve enough.
And so nights like tonight, I realize I'm suffering from a "baditude." Because nights like tonight, the Lord lets me live out scripture. He lets me be His hands and feet. He allows me to share in the miracle of His provision. Because, although God is a provider, that pizza isn't going to hop on a plate and walk itself to the table. And sure, God can do crazy, amazing things like make pizza magically appear and walk itself to a table, but He chooses to use His children to help feed those who hunger. He chooses to let us live out the promise that He will care for all of us just as He cares for the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. He gives us the opportunity to live out "when I was hungry, you fed me," and I just have to believe that even though I may not witness it, God uses these nights to change peoples lives in one way or another.
But it's not about me, I know. And I don't serve so that someone will tell me thank you. It's about living out God's commands faithfully, and it's about doing what He has placed us here to do. And I trust that, although I may not see it, God will use it for a greater purpose, as He always does.
#774 - Because God uses our small efforts for a greater purpose whether or not we see it.
"Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms." - 1 Peter 4:9-10
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