Interrupted to Serve

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He rises by lifting others..
Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-1899) “Liberty”

Saying “yes” INTERRUPTED our already busy day.  Saying “yes” meant adding one more thing to the weekend schedule. Saying “yes” meant giving up a piece of a perfectly gorgeous spring afternoon. We thought we were saying “yes” to being the givers, but in the end, we were saying “yes,” to receiving a gift.

Last weekend, we had the opportunity to team up with an amazing organization called “Meals from the Heartland.”  http://www.mealsfromtheheartland.org/.  This amazing volunteer initiative is sending the “wealth” of the heartland  to the poorest across the globe. In our simple state, we grow crops: corn and soy beans to name a few. A brief drive through Iowa may not provide window-gawking beauty, but it will showcase thriving farmland that helps to feed the world.  Last Saturday, our family joined countless others in our community in an effort to package meals that will be sent to Haiti. 

To be honest, I had nearly talked myself out of it. Our Saturday was already full: soccer games, baseball practice, yard work.  And yet, that still small voice kept whispering, “What you do for the least of these you do for me.” ( Matthew 25:45) So, at the last minute, I  made a phone call, asked if there was room for more help and committed our family to serving for one shift. Thankfully, my dear husband who rarely has time at home supported my last minute decision. With little time to prepare our family for the event, I began praying that our kids would have soft hearts to receive whatever God wanted to teach them through our “yes.”
When we arrived, we watched a brief video that explained the crisis of world hunger and the simple packing process we would use to package the meals. Each meal bag contained a mix of soy beans, grain, vitamins and rice that when cooked would feed 4-5 people. Shockingly, every 5 seconds a child dies of starvation. I can barely breathe at the thought. In the time it will take you to read this brief post two dozen children will have died simply because they had no food. As I watch my own kids raid the snack cupboard at will, I try to imagine a world where I would have to choose which child eats TODAY; a world where I would face the reality of burying my little ones long before they’d had a chance to graduate from high school, get married or pursue a career.

If we would have gleaned nothing but that poignant reminder that our family is recklessly blessed, the “interruption” would have been well worth our time. But God, in His grace, allowed us to leave not only with the gift of gratitude, but with hearts full from the thrill of serving, as well.  
 
After our brief video driven “education,”we were  handed gloves, hats, and aprons and put to work in assembly line style. The mood was almost festive as families and friends dished out food, sealed the packages and piled them into shipping boxes.  Families of all shapes and sizes worked side by side: kids still in soccer uniforms who’d come straight from their games, a mom in a Traditional Dutch Costume who had raced home from a college campus parade to have the chance to serve, and sleepy toddlers still clinging to naptime blankies because their naps had been interrupted by the opportunity to serve. I battled tears as I walked around snapping photos of the masses who had responded to the invitation to reach beyond our WEALTHY world of mealtimes and soccer games and safe schools in order to offer hope to families who don’t know such security.  
By the end of our shift the organizers announced that our community had reached the goal and filled 400,000 bags of food that day.  The entire assembly whooped and cheered and my children applauded as if they had single-handedly knocked off world hunger.  As we drove home, Lizzy said, “That was fun, Mom!” And once again, I was humbly reminded that sometimes INTERRUPTIONS are God’s gifts to us. 
 
 
Today’s Treasure: “For I was hungry, and you fed me…” -Matthew 25:35
Alicia

One Comment

  1. Looks like you served along some wonderful women and their families as well. Dave and the three oldest went to help; I became teary even now as I think of the Lord’s hand in having our daughter here safe, here to be able to serve her first home country. How blessed we are to serve. BTW, read “The Hole in our Gospel?” It was a life changer.
    Thanks for sharing!
    Andi

    Reply

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