Sunday afternoon was a beautiful warm, sunny day. We could have taken the kids to the park, the zoo or on a bike ride. But, instead we chose to follow our church's lead in a day of service for others and I am so glad we did.
After church we all met at Metro Lutheran Ministries, for a little in service on what they do there and what our tasks for the day would be.
While we were waiting for everyone to arrive we were able to help stock the shelves for the food pantry. I stood in awe of how fast Aidan & Grace took to working and how hard they both worked knowing that the next morning someone would be coming to get some much needed food.
Several groups stayed at MLM to work while others went to 4 different homes to work and still other groups went to ReStart homeless shelter to work.
Our small group was slotted to go and help at a Lutheran church in the downtown area. We had 18 people, including the kids and what an impact especially those kids had on this huge church with a dwindling congregation.
The building in its time was beautiful with ornate pews and stained glass but, unfortunately the congregation has gotten older and so small that they don't even use the sanctuary anymore they all fit in the chapel area.
The kids and women grabbed dust cloths and Old English polish, vacuums and mops and spiffed up the whole sanctuary, chapel and greeting hall. The men covered the windows for winter, fixed ceiling tiles and other odds and end jobs that needed to be completed.
At the end of the afternoon we were all physically tired but, spiritually lifted.
Aidan wants to go back and serve at the food pantry again and serve meals at the homeless shelter. We most certainly will go and do these things and take Alayna too when she gets old enough to work.
I love throwing a pebble into still water and watching the ripple effect emanate out from the center. I guess that is why I was an educator, I saw the ripple effect that teachers and administrators have on kids.
Sunday, we threw a small pebble of service into the world and though we may never see the ripples that have been left behind I can attest that our hearts felt the movement and were changed because of this day.
Have you stopped to throw a pebble lately?
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3 comments:
oh, beautifully written! it was a wonderful day...pebbles seen and boulders most certainly in the works :)
Well, Jeepers.
This post was a gift in itself.
Thanks for sharing about the day...justin had a lot to say about it, too. We're sorry we missed it!
Oooh - I love the pebble and 'ripple effect' analogy. I may have to use that sometime. =)
Sounds like a great day!
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